A   ROYAL  TRAGEDY 


A 

ROYAL    TRAGEDY 


BEING 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION 

OF   KING   ALEXANDER   AND  QUEEN 

DRAGA  OF  SERVIA 


BY 


CHEDOMILLE   MIJATOVICH 

FORMERLY  SERVIAN  MINISTER  AT  THE  COURT  OF 
ST.  JAMES'S 


NEW    YORK 

DODD,    MEAD    &    CO. 
1907 


PREFACE 

THE  murderers  of  King  Alexander  and  Queen 
Draga,  who  on  that  gruesome  dawn  of  the  nth 
June  1903  made  themselves  masters  of  Belgrade, 
and  consequently  of  Servia,  have  taken  care  that 
many  of  the  details  of  their  terrible  deed  should 
not  be  made  public.  But  those  few  details  which 
could  not  be  hidden  were  of  such  a  revolting  and 
horrible  nature  that  the  whole  civilised  world  stood 
aghast;  indeed,  the  conscience  of  the  civilised  nations 
has  not  yet  recovered  from  the  shock  that  it  then 
received. 

But  the  assassination  of  King  Alexander  and 
Queen  Draga  was  more  terrible,  and  the  drama  of 
King  Alexander's  destiny  more  tragical,  than  is 
generally  known.  It  has  seemed  to  me,  in  the 
interests  of  history  and  justice,  that  the  world  should 
learn  the  whole  truth. 

In  presenting  an  historical  sketch  of  the  last 
years  and  sad  end  of  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty  I 
have  no  political  object  in  view.  An  inscrutable 
Providence  has  enacted  on  the  volcanic  platform 
of  a  small  Balkan  State  a  tragedy,  of  which  the 
extraordinary  sadness  must  always  arouse  in  the 


240719 


vi  PREFACE 

hearts  of  noble  and  generous  men  and  women  the 
deepest  pity  and  sympathy.  I  intend  to  describe 
that  tragedy.  I  wish  impartially  to  relate  all  that 
can  be  justly  and  truthfully  said  for  and  against 
King  Alexander  and  Queen  Draga,  that  can 
explain  that  horrible  deed,  and  all  that  can  be  said 
in  justification  —  or  at  least  in  extenuation  —  of  that 
crime.  My  desire  is  to  tell  the  whole  truth,  and  by 
truth  to  move  my  readers  to  pity  the  victims  as  well 
as  the  principal  actors  of  this,  the  greatest  tragedy 
of  the  last  hundred  years. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  history  of  the  last 
days  of  the  dynasty  Obrenovich  I  will  introduce 
here  the 


DRAMATIS 

KING  ALEXANDER  OF  SERVIA.  —  A  young  man 
in  his  twenty-seventh  year,  intelligent,  patriotic  in 
his  own  way,  self-willed,  with  exaggerated  ideas  of 
his  Kingship,  somewhat  blind  towards  the  light 
of  morality.  Born  under  exciting  circumstances, 
in  the  critical  years  of  tender  childhood  he  saw  his 
parents  hate  each  other  and  create  a  world  scandal 
by  fighting  over  the  possession  of  his  person,  all  the 
time  professing  love  for  him,  but  practically  killing 
his  love  for  them.  In  his  thirteenth  year  he  was 
made  King  of  one  of  the  most  difficult  countries  in 
the  world,  abandoned  by  both  his  parents,  delivered 
into  the  hands  of  cynical  men,  without  proper 
moral  education,  taught  to  distrust  everyone,  or 
rather  to  hate  everyone.  Later  he  fell  in  love  with 
and  came  under  the  influence  of  a  handsome  widow, 
some  nine  years  older  than  himself,  made  her  his 


PREFACE  vii 

Queen  in  the  face  of  every  opposition,  and  remained 
faithful  to  her  to  his  death.  This,  the  only  love  his 
heart  deeply  felt,  gave  the  pretext  to  the  old  and 
permanent  enemies  of  his  dynasty  to  organise  a 
conspiracy  and  to  assassinate  him. 

QUEEN  DRAGA  OF  SERVIA. — A  fascinating  widow 
of  a  small  Servian  official.  By  her  loveliness,  beauty, 
and  talents — backed  by  descent  from  Nikola  Lun- 
yevitza,  an  intimate  friend  of  the  founder  of  the 
dynasty  Obrenovich — she  moved  the  pity  of  Queen 
Nathalie  to  complete  her  education  and  to  take  her 
as  one  of  her  Court  ladies  (Dame  cTkonneur). 
At  the  villa  of  the  Queen  in  Biarritz  she  became 
the  object  of  King  Alexander's  love  proposals, 
which  she  resisted  for  some  time,  but  ultimately 
became  his  mistress,  and,  having  obtained  an 
absolute  control  over  his  will,  made  him  marry 
her  and  make  her  his  Queen.  She  loved  him  with 
an  entire  devotion,  and  hoped  by  good  deeds  to 
reconcile  the  people  to  her. 

KING  MILAN. — Father  of  King  Alexander,  who 
voluntarily  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  son  (1889), 
whom  he  loved  and  adored  ;  he  worked  to  obtain 
the  hand  of  a  German  Princess  for  him,  and 
had  every  prospect  of  succeeding,  when  his  son 
unexpectedly  married  the  widow  Draga  Mashin, 
closed  the  frontier  of  Servia  against  him,  and 
behaved  towards  him  with  cruelty.  King  Milan 
shortly  afterwards  died  of  a  broken  heart  in 
Vienna. 

QUEEN  NATHALIE. — Mother  of  King  Alexander, 
a  beautiful,  intelligent,  self-willed  and  imperious 
woman,  with  a  strange  mixture  of  the  Roumanian, 
Russian,  Levantine  blood  in  her  veins,  from  the 
middle  class  of  the  Bessarabian  nobility  raised  by 
King  Milan  to  the  station  of  a  Queen,  for  which 


viii  PREFACE 

station  she  lacked  proper  qualities.  She  made,  not 
without  provocation,  her  husband's  and  her  own  life 
bitter  and  unhappy,  and  finished  by  hating  every- 
one and  everything  she  once  loved  :  her  husband, 
her  son,  Russia,  Servia,  the  very  Church  in  which 
she  had  been  born.  To  paralyse  King  Milan's 
influence  with  his  son  she  allowed  her  Court  lady, 
Draga  Mashin,  to  flirt  with  the  young  King ;  but, 
once  awakened  to  the  real  facts,  tried  bravely  to 
save  him  from  his  mistress  when,  unfortunately,  it 
was  too  late. 

RUSSIA. — The  great  Orthodox  and  Slavonic 
Power  exercised  an  overwhelming  influence  over 
the  simple  and  naive  Slavonic  and  Orthodox  people 
of  Servia,  hating  with  implacable  hatred  King 
Milan  for  his  refusal  to  continue  to  be  a  tool  in 
her  hands,  and  for  his  seeking  for  his  own  and 
his  country's  interests  protection  with  Austria.  To 
separate  King  Alexander  from  his  father,  and  to 
close  the  doors  of  Servia  for  ever  to  the  latter, 
Russia  facilitated  (if  not  invented)  the  programme 
of  the  marriage  of  King  Alexander  with  the  widow 
Draga  Mashin,  and  helped  very  materially  its 
execution. 

PARTISANS  OF  THE  DYNASTY  KARAGEORGEVICH 
spread  and  deepened  the  dissatisfaction  with 
Alexander,  the  childless  and  only  representative 
of  the  dynasty  Obrenovich,  and  organised  con- 
spiracies for  his  overthrow  and  for  placing  the 
Pretender,  Prince  Peter  Karageorgevich,  on  the 
throne  of  Servia. 

A  GROUP  OF  SERVIAN  OFFICERS — some  as 
partisans  of  Karageorgevich,  others  as  single- 
minded  patriots,  others  again  from  sordid  motives 
—decided  to  assassinate  King  Alexander  and  the 
more  important  of  his  Ministers  and  courtiers,  as 


PREFACE  ix 

well  as  Queen  Draga  and  her  two  brothers.  At 
the  head  of  the  conspiracy  was  the  brother-in-law 
of  Draga,  Colonel  Alexander  Mashin. 

THE  FINAL  SCENE. — Darkness  at  the  Palace. 
Shortly  before  the  dawn  of  the  nth  June  1903, 
murderers  search  after  the  hiding  King  and  Queen  ; 
merciless  assassination  and  most  cruel  mutilation  of 
their  bodies,  ultimately  thrown  from  a  window  of 
the  first  floor  of  the  Palace,  naked  and  with  horrible 
wounds,  down  into  the  front  garden  in  the  sight  of 
soldiers  who  surrounded  the  Palace. 


I    may   be   permitted   to  say  something  about 
my  own  qualification  to  write  this  history. 

I  have  been  connected  with  the  Obrenovich 
Dynasty  during  more  than  thirty  years.  I  have 
been  for  a  short  time  private  secretary  to  King 
Milan,  many  times  Cabinet  Minister  in  several  of 
his  Governments,  and  once  the  Minister  in  one  of 
King  Alexander's  Cabinets  (1894),  and  have  had 
the  honour  of  representing  them  at  several  Courts, 
including  four  times  at  the  Court  of  St.  James's. 
For  my  political  career  I  have  to  thank  principally 
King  Milan,  in  much  smaller  measure  King 
Alexander.  King  Milan  was  not  only  my  King,  but 
my  friend,  and  I  was  to  him  not  only  a  loyal  subject, 
but  a  devoted  friend.  To  King  Alexander  I  was 
a  loyal  subject,  but  I  never  was  in  full  sympathy 
with  him,  nor  he  with  me,  although  I  liked  him  very 
much  while  he  was  a  delightful  little  boy,  and  I 
can  say  that  little  Sasha  had  so  much  liking  for 
me  that  King  Milan  contemplated  for  some  time 


x  PREFACE 

entrusting   me  with   the  education    of  the   young 
Prince. 

But  my  devotion  to  King  Milan  and  my  loyalty 
to  King  Alexander  never  made  me  blind  to  their 
shortcomings,  mistakes,  and  insecurity  of  moral 
balance.  It  was,  perhaps,  my  outspokenness  and 
my  readiness  to  tell  them  always  the  truth,  which 
secured  for  me  their  confidence.  My  intimate 
connection  with  them,  coupled  with  my  predilections 
as  an  historian — that  is  to  say,  my  insistence  to 
discover  the  truth  and  without  fear  to  proclaim  it, 
and  my  permanent  desire  to  be  impartial  and  fair  to 
everyone — have  encouraged  me  to  undertake  to 
write  this  true  story  of  a  great  tragedy. 

CREDO   MIJATOVICH. 
LONDON,  June  n,  1906. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP. 

I.  A  STRANGE  PROPHECY  i 

II.  THE  BIRTH  OF  KING  ALEXANDER  .  .         9 

III.  SASHA'S  CHILDHOOD  .  .20 

IV.  THE  SILENT  BOY  KING       .  .  .  32 
V.  How  THE  SILENT  SASHA  BECAME  "  ALEXANDER 

THE  GREAT  "  .  .  .  -39 

VI.  KING  ALEXANDER'S  SECOND  COUP  D'£TAT  .       4^' 

VII.  RUSSIA  AND  SERVIA  .  .  .  .       56 r 

VIII.  RUSSIA'S  R6LE  IN  THE  RUIN  OF  ALEXANDER  .       70 

IX.  MADAME  DRAGA  MASHIN     .  .  .  .81 

X.  THE  REGIME  OF  "  WORK  AND  ORDER  "    .  .       92%^ 

XI.  ATTEMPT  ON  THE  LIFE  OF  KING  MILAN    .  .     109 

XII.    ON    THE    EVE    OF   THE    FATAL    DEED  .  .        I2O 

XIII.  ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  WITH  DRAGA  MASHIN  .     131 

XIV.  KING  ALEXANDER  AND  THE  SERVIAN  ARMY  .     150^ 
XV.  THE  LAST  INTERVIEW  WITH  QUEEN  DRAGA  .     157 

XVI.  THE  CONSPIRACY      .  .  .  .  .     171 

XVII.  THE  ASSASSINATION  .  .  .  .184 

APPENDIX       .  .  .  .  •  .217 


A    ROYAL    TRAGEDY 


CHAPTER   I 

A    STRANGE    PROPHECY 

I  WISH  to  write  a  truthful  and  impartial  history  of 
a  young  King  who  was  born  under  extraordinary 
circumstances,  whose  childhood  was  filled  with 
sad  events,  whose  early  youth  was  prematurely 
darkened  by  a  crown,  and  who,  still  a  young  and 
inexperienced,  although  self-willed  man,  was  most 
cruelly  murdered  by  the  very  men  in  whom  he 
placed  his  trust,  and  who  by  a  solemn  oath  were 
pledged  before  God  and  men  to  serve  him  faithfully, 
and  die  in  defence  of  his  life  and  his  honour. 

I  daresay  some  readers  who  have  had  the 
patience  to  read  this  history  attentively  to  the  end 
will  be  struck  by  the  similarity  of  some  of  its 
features  with  Shakespeare's  tragedy,  Macbeth. 

I  have  no  wish  to  increase  that  similarity,  but  I 

cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  begin  my  history  of 

a  great  tragedy  in    real  life  with  a    strange,   yet 

absolutely  true,  story.     It  is  a  contribution  to  the 

i 


2  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

collection  of  materials  for  the  solution  of  the 
problem:  Are  human  acts  and  events  fore- 
ordained ?  and,  if  so,  can  they  really  be  foreseen 
and  foretold  ? 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1875  the  Cabinet 
Danilo  Stefanovich,  after  repeated  fruitless  efforts 
to  work  with  the  Skupshtina,  decided  to  dissolve  it 
and  have  a  general  election.  I  was  a  member  of 
that  Cabinet,  and  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  read  in  the  full 
House  the  decree  of  dissolution. 

Although  the  Constitution  clearly  reserved  the 
right  to  the  Crown  to  dissolve  the  Skupshtina,  until 
that  day  the  dissolution  never  took  place.  It  was 
no  wonder  that  the  reading  of  so  unexpected  a 
decree  made  a  very  deep  impression  on  the 
members  of  the  Skupshtina.  Many  of  the 
supporters  of  the  Government  came  to  shake  hands 
with  me.  The  last  of  them  was  my  friend  Mr. 
Alexa  Popovich,  a  solicitor  by  profession,  and 
Member  for  the  town  of  Ujitza,  the  principal  town 
of  the  south-western,  the  most  mountainous  part  of 
Servia. 

"Do  you  see,"  he  asked  me,  "how  every 
year  brings  fresh  confirmation  of  the  prophecy  of 
Mata  of  Kremna?  He  clearly  said  that  we  will 
have  dissolutions  of  Skupshtinas !  " 

I  told  my  friend  that  I  did  not  understand  his 
statement  at  all.  He  on  his  part  was  surprised  that 
a  politician  of  my  position  should  never  have  heard 
anything  of  the  famous  political  prophecies  of  the 
clairvoyant  peasant  Mata  of  Kremna.  He  asked 


A  STRANGE  PROPHECY  3 

me  if  Prince  Milan  knew  anything  about  them, 
adding,  that  if  the  Prince  did  not,  he  ought  to,  as 
they  contained  many  statements  which  concerned 
him  personally  and  his  dynasty.  Altogether,  my 
friend  was  not  so  much  impressed  by  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  Skupshtina  as  by  the  strange  fact  that 
a  poor  and  ignorant  peasant  should  have  been 
able  to  foretell  it  some  seven  years  before. 

That  evening  I  dined  in  the  Palace  with  Prince 
Milan,  and  after  dinner  I  took  an  opportunity  to  tell 
him  what  I  had  heard  from  Mr.  Popovich.  As  the 
Prince  was  very  curious,  eager,  and  energetic,  he  at 
once  called  the  equerry  on  duty  and  ordered  him  to 
despatch  a  letter  to  Mr.  Popovich  informing  him 
that  he  was  expected  at  the  Palace  early  next 
morning.  The  Prince  told  me  to  come  to-morrow 
at  10  a.m.,  as  he  intended  receiving  the  late  deputy 
for  Ujitza  in  my  presence. 

Next  morning  before  ten  o'clock  we  both  were 
at  the  Palace.  Mr.  Popovich,  one  of  the  most 
eloquent  men  in  Servia,  told  the  Prince  the  story  of 
the  clairvoyant  peasant  in  a  most  graphic,  almost 
picturesque,  manner.  The  story  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  young  Prince ;  nor  was  I  less 
moved.  I  will  give  here  only  the  most  essential 
features  of  the  story. 

On  the  29th  May  (O.S=ioth  of  June  N.S.) 
1868,  about  noon,  a  well-known  peasant,  by 
name  Mata  (Mathews),  came  in  great  haste  from 
the  neighbouring  village  of  Kremna  to  the  town  of 
Ujitza,  and  running  through  the  streets  cried  out 


4  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

loudly  and  in  great  alarm  :  "  Oh,  brethren  !  Rise 
up  to  help !  Save  him,  save  him !  They  are 
murdering  our  Prince !  They  are  cruelly  murdering 
him!  Help!  Help!" 

The  police  knew  Mata  as  somewhat  strange  in 
his  manner,  but  as  he  talked  on  that  occasion  of 
the  murder  of  the  Prince,  and  as  the  spreading  of 
false,  alarming  news  was  punishable,  they,  after 
fruitless  endeavours  to  prevent  him  shouting,  put 
him  under  arrest. 

Late  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  an  official 
telegram  from  Belgrade  announced  that  Prince 
Michael  Obrenovich  in.,  while  walking  with  his 
cousin  Mme.  Anka  Constantinovich  and  her 
daughter  Mile.  Katharina  in  the  woods  of 
Koshootnyak  (Deer  Park),  was  assassinated.  The 
Prefect  of  Ujitza,  who  suspected  that  Mata  of 
Kremna  must  have  known  something  about  the 
conspiracy,  commenced  immediately  an  interrog- 
atory examination  of  the  poor  man.  The  result  of 
this  was  that  there  was  no  possible  connection 
between  the  peasant  of  Kremna  and  conspirators 
in  Belgrade,  but  that  Mata  from  time  to  time  had 
visions  of  events  which  are  happening  at  a  great 
distance,  or  which  will  happen  some  day  in  the  nearer 
or  more  distant  future.  That  once  established, 
the  Prefect  invited  Mata  of  Kremna  to  say  what  he 
saw  concerning  the  future,  and  ordered  one  of  the 
secretaries  to  put  in  writing  Mata's  statements. 
According  to  those  "  Minutes,"  or  "  Proces- Verbal," 
the  clairvoyant  of  Kremna  said: — 


A  STRANGE  PROPHECY  5 

"  Servia  will  now  have  a  boy  for  her  Prince,  but 
practically  the  country  will  be  governed  by  a  com- 
mission of  three  persons. 

"  A  few  years  hence  the  young  boy  will  be  ruler 
in  reality.  He  is  intelligent,  but  very  restless,  and 
will  have  all  sorts  of  difficulties.  The  country 
during  his  reign  will  never  have  rest  and  repose. 
He  will  marry  unhappily,  will  have  only  one  son, 
will  have  much  trouble  with  his  wife,  and  at  last  will 
divorce  her.  He  will  lead  several  wars,  will  enlarge 
the  country,  will  advance  in  his  own  station  and 
become  a  king  ;  but  after  several  years  of  trouble  he 
will  abdicate,  go  abroad,  and  die  there  comparatively 
young.  His  son  will  succeed  him,  have  a  still  more 
turbulent  and  restless  reign,  will  marry  a  woman 
from  the  people,  and  in  his  twenty-seventh  or 
twenty-eighth  year  will  cease  to  be  king,  his  dynasty 
perishing  with  him.  He  will  be  replaced  on  the 
throne  by  Peter  Karageorgevich,  who  will  reign 
about  three  years  and  then  also  disappear.  A 
foreign  army  will  enter  the  country,  and  the  people 
will  suffer  very  much.  At  last  a  man  will  arise 
from  the  midst  of  the  people,  will  drive  away 
the  foreigners,  unite  all  the  Servian  people  under 
his  reign,  and  inaugurate  a  happy  era  of  national 
history." 

I  have  not  myself  read  those  Minutes,  and 
mention  here  the  essential  points  such  as  I  heard 
them  for  the  first  time  in  the  Palace  of  Belgrade  in 
the  presence  of  Prince  Milan,  from  a  man  who  has 
seen  and  read  the  prophecies  of  Mata  of  Kremna, 


6  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

written  by  a  secretary  in  the  presence  of  the  Prefect 
of  Ujitza. 

On  the  i Qth  of  February(O.S.  =  3rd  March  N.S.) 
1889,  King  Milan  communicated  to  the  President  of 
his  Cabinet,  Mr.  Nicholas  Christich,  that  he  had 
firmly  resolved  to  abdicate  on  the  22nd  of  February, 
the  Servian  national  festival.  All  the  Ministers 
went  together  to  the  Palace  to  try  to  persuade 
the  King  to  abandon  such  an  unworthy  and  fatal 
intention.  We  spent  nearly  two  hours  in  trying  to 
open  his  eyes  to  the  inevitable  and  the  mischievous 
consequences  of  such  a  step.  At  last  King  Milan 
said  to  us  :  "  Gentlemen,  you  certainly  have  done 
your  duty,  you  have  brought  before  me  all  the 
possible  arguments  against  my  abdication,  most  of 
which  arguments  I  cannot  dispute.  You  are  right, 
but  in  spite  of  all  that  and  everything  else,  I  cannot 
do  otherwise !  Nothing  can  shake  me  in  my 
determination !  Let  me  add,  that  I  do  not 
wonder  at  your  insistence,  but  I  do  wonder  that 
Mijatovich  excites  himself  into  a  rage  against  my 
abdication,  when  he  knows  well  that  it  must  take 
place." 

The  moment  we  left  Queen  Nathalie's  boudoir 
(where  our  interview  with  King  Milan  took  place) 
our  President  begged  us  all  to  come  to  his  office  to 
a  sort  of  informal  Cabinet  meeting.  Hardly  had 
we  taken  our  chairs  around  him,  when  the  old 
gentleman  in  his  earnest,  quiet,  and  dignified  manner 
addressed  us — 


A  STRANGE  PROPHECY  7 

"  Gentlemen,  you  all  heard  the  King  say  that  our 
colleague,  Mr.  Mijatovich,  knew  well  that  the 
abdication  must  take  place !  As  none  of  us  knew 
anything  about  it,  I  think  we  have  the  right  to  ask 
our  colleague  for  an  explanation  :  why,  knowing 
that  the  abdication  would  take  place,  he  never 
told  us  ?  " 

I  assured  the  President  and  my  colleagues  that 
I  was  absolutely  ignorant  of  the  King's  intention  of 
abdicating  now ;  that  I  had  only  a  few  days  ago,  in 
answer  to  a  confidential  question  put  to  me  by  the 
British  Minister,  assured  His  Excellency  that  his 
German  colleague,  Count  Bray,  was  quite  wrong 
when  he  told  him  that  the  King  was  going  to 
abdicate  in  a  few  days,  for  the  King  had  certainly 
no  intention  to  abdicate  now,  although  that  might 
be  the  case  in  four  years,  when  his  son  comes  of  age. 

This  assurance  was  well  received  by  my 
colleagues,  but  the  President  did  not  let  me  escape. 
"  But,  then,  how  do  you  explain  His  Majesty's 
words  ?  "  he  asked  me  again. 

"  Very  simply,"  I  answered.  "  Many  years  ago 
the  King  and  I  heard  at  the  same  time,  and  for  the 
first  time,  the  details  of  the  prophecy  of  Mata  of 
Kremna,  where  it  was  mentioned  that  he  would 
abdicate  and  leave  the  country."  And  I  told  them 
then  all  I  knew  about  Mata's  prophecy. 

Some  of  my  colleagues  protested  that  I  was 
joking  in  such  a  crisis,  others  laughed  at  the 
stupidity  of  an  explanation  apparently  invented  at 
random. 


8  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

But  the  old  "  Uncle  Nicholas"  (Chicha  Nikola, 
as  we  lovingly  called  our  highly  respected  President), 
came  most  unexpectedly  to  my  assistance. 

" Gentlemen,"  he  began,  "our  colleague's  ex- 
planation may  seem  to  you  strange,  but  I  for 
my  part  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  it  is 
perfectly  true.  You  remember  that  I  had  the 
misfortune  to  be  the  Home  Minister  at  the  time  of 
Prince  Michael's  assassination.  I  recollect  that  the 
Prefect  of  Ujitza  reported  to  me  on  the  remarkable 
statements  of  the  clairvoyant  peasant.  I  gave 
orders  that  the  original  document,  on  which  his 
statements  were  written,  should  be  sent  to  me.  I 
have  read  it  myself,  and  I  think  it  could  be  found 
now,  among  the  secret  papers  of  the  year  1868,  in 
this  very  building." 

I  might  give  to  my  readers  yet  a  few  interesting 
details  from  that  very  remarkable  political  prophecy 
of  a  poor  and  ignorant  Servian  peasant ;  but  I 
refrain,  because  in  a  later  chapter  I  will,  at  Queen 
Draga's  interview  with  a  loyal  friend  only  a  few 
days  before  her  assassination,  report  their  conversa- 
tion on  that  very  prophecy.  I  will  say  here  only 
that  all  the  principal  events  of  Servian  history 
during  the  last  thirty  years  (since  I  knew  something 
about  Mata's  prognostication)  have  remarkably 
agreed  with  what  he  told  the  Prefect  of  Ujitza  and 
his  secretary  in  the  year  1868. 


QUEEN  NATHALIE  OF  SERVIA 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   BIRTH    OF   KING   ALEXANDER 

IN  the  month  of  May  1874,  Prince  Milan 
Obrenovich  iv.  of  Servia  surprised  his  Government 
and  his  people  by  announcing  to  them  in  an  open 
telegram  from  Vienna  that  he  had  become  engaged 
to  Mademoiselle  Nathalie  Kechko.  This  came  as 
an  unwelcome  surprise  to  the  Ministers,  who  had 
been  planning  to  obtain  for  him  the  hand  of  one 
of  several  young  Russian  Princesses ;  in  fact  the 
President  of  his  Cabinet,  Yovan  Marinovich,  at  that 
time  one  of  the  favourites  of  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment, already  had  made  confidential  advances  in 
that  direction  in  St.  Petersburg.  At  the  same  time, 
however,  unknown  to  the  Government,  Milan's 
mother,  Princess  Helene  Obrenovich,  nte  Catargi, 
had  selected  a  bride  for  her  son.  By  her  arrange- 
ment Princess  Mourousi,  the  aunt  and  the  guardian 
of  the  young  children  of  her  deceased  sister  Mme. 
Kechko,  brought  her  niece  Nathalie  to  Vienna. 
Milan  was  invited  to  Vienna  to  see  the  young  lady. 
The  moment  he  saw  her  he  fell  passionately  in  love 
with  her.  She  was  then  hardly  eighteen,  and  very 
pretty.  Her  large,  dark,  and  very  expressive  eyes, 


10  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

together  with  her  brilliant  complexion  and  somewhat 
Armenian,  if  not  Georgian,  cast  of  countenance,  gave 
her  the  stamp  of  an  Oriental  beauty.  No  one 
could  come  into  her  presence  without  feeling  that 
she  was  the  type  of  a  superior  woman.  Struck  from 
the  first  moment  by  her  beauty,  Prince  Milan  was 
soon  fascinated  by  her  spiritual  qualities.  In  his 
first  conversation  with  her  he  found  that  this 
Oriental  beauty  had  the  culture  of  an  Occidental 
lady,  and  more  especially  that  she  had  the  brilliant 
dsprit  of  a  Frenchwoman. 

I  saw  King  Milan  on  his  return  from  the  inter- 
view with  his  bride  in  Vienna.  I  also  saw  him 
frequently  during  the  first  and  second  year  of  his 
wedded  life,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  he 
was  deeply,  sincerely,  and  honestly  in  love  with  his 
wife. 

The  Servians  at  that  time  were  devoted  to  their 
young  sovereign,  and,  because  of  that  devotion, 
they  were  bitterly  disappointed  that  he  did  not 
marry  a  Russian  Princess.  Besides,  everyone 
asked,  "  Who  are  the  Kechkos?"  All  that  could' 
be  said  in  reply  was  that  Nathalie's  parents 
belonged  to  the  old  Moldavian  nobility,  that  they 
had  large  estates  in  Bessarabia,  and  that  her  father 
died  Colonel  of  one  of  the  Russian  Cavalry  regiments. 
Rumours  were  soon  current  that  people  who  knew 
well  the  Kechko  family  rather  doubted  that  King 
Milan  had  made  a  happy  choice.  The  disappoint- 
ment spread  and  deepened,  nor  could  it  be  lessened 
by  the  exaggerated  stories  of  the  Kechkos'  great 


THE  BIRTH  OF  KING  ALEXANDER         11 

wealth.  But  when,  at  the  request  of  Prince  Milan, 
Prince  and  Princess  Mourousi  and  their  niece 
Nathalie,  on  their  return  from  Vienna  to  Moldavia, 
travelling  by  steamer  down  the  Danube,  stopped 
at  Belgrade,  and  the  affianced  young  couple  drove 
in  an  open  carriage  through  the  thronged  streets 
of  the  capital  of  Servia,  Nathalie  at  once  won  the 
hearts  of  all  by  her  beauty,  modesty,  and  childlike 
simplicity.  I  myself  was  present  at  that  first  recep- 
tion of  the  future  Queen  in  Belgrade,  and  I  never 
before  heard  or  saw  the  Servians  so  spontaneously 
and  so  genuinely  enthusiastic  as  on  that  occasion. 
The  young  Prince  Milan  was  radiant  with  happiness 
at  the  reception  his  capital  gave  his  engaged  bride. 
Probably  that  was  the  happiest  day  in  the  lives 
of  both  Milan  and  Nathalie.  Even  those  who 
knew  something  of  the  prophecy  of  the  Kremna 
clairvoyant,  as  I  did,  did  not  believe  that  it  could 
ever  be  possible  that  these  two  young  people,  so 
handsome,  so  intelligent,  so  in  love  with  each  other, 
and  so  enthusiastically  greeted  by  a  gifted  and 
affectionate  people,  could  ever  persecute  each  other 
with  a  relentless  and  cruel  hatred. 

The  wedding  took  place  in  Belgrade  Cathedral, 
on  Qth  October,  under  somewhat  difficult  circum- 
stances. Just  before  the  arrival  of  the  bride  in 
Belgrade  for  the  ceremony,  a  Cabinet  crisis  took 
place,  and  Prince  Milan  had  great  difficulty  in 
forming  a  new  one.  Indeed,  the  wedding  had  to 
be  postponed  for  a  few  days  until  the  Prince 
succeeded  in  doing  so.  It  then  took  place  amidst 


12  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

great  rejoicings,  and  the  genuine  enthusiasm  of  the 
people.  The  joyfulness  of  the  occasion  was  in- 
creased by  the  Tzar  having  consented  to  act,  through 
a  special  envoy,  as  the  "Koom"  to  the  young 
couple.  The  "  Koom "  at  a  Servian  wedding  is 
the  principal  witness,  the  best  man  and  something 
more  than  that ;  he  is  in  a  sense  the  protector  of 
the  couple,  their  trustee,  their  best  and  most 
respected  friend  through  life.  The  Servians,  who 
are  almost  all  Russophil,  and  worshippers  of  the 
Tzar,  felt  very  much  flattered  that  the  ruler  of  the 
mighty  and  " invincible"  Russia  should  become 
the  "  Koom  "  of  their  young  Prince  and  Princess. 

Curiously,  a  few  insignificant  incidents  were 
regarded  by  the  superstitious  people  of  Belgrade 
as  bad  omens. 

After  the  ceremony  in  the  Cathedral,  and  when 
the  newly-wedded,  young  princely  couple  had  taken 
their  places  in  the  open  carriage  to  return  to  the 
Palace,  the  horses  at  first  refused  to  move  from 
the  spot.  Urged  on  by  the  grooms  and  watchmen, 
they  began  to  rear,  and  for  a  few  moments  there 
was  a  danger  that  the  carriage  with  the  bride  and 
bridegroom  would  be  overturned ! 

Another  incident,  which  the  people  considered 
of  evil  portent,  was  that  hardly  had  the  young 
Prince  and  his  bride,  with  their  suite,  reached  the 
Palace,  when  a  brief  but  violent  storm  burst  over 
the  town.  I  remember  distinctly  that  in  the  great 
Hall  of  the  Palace,  where  the  State  dignitaries  and 
their  wives  were  assembled  to  congratulate  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  KING  ALEXANDER         13 

bride  and  bridegroom,  and  just  when  the  young 
couple  entered  the  Hall,  the  thick  clouds  of  the 
storm  caused  such  a  darkness  that  we  could  hardly 
see  each  other,  as  at  that  time  there  was  neither 
gas  nor  electric  light  in  the  Palace.  A  high 
dignitary,  a  friend  of  mine  and  a  devoted  friend 
of  the  dynasty,  who  was  standing  near  me,  after 
a  suppressed  involuntary  exclamation  whispered 
to  me,  "  Dost  thou  not  notice  the  remarkable 
resemblance  between  the  head  of  the  Princess  and 
the  head  of  a  tigress  ? "  It  was  then  for  me  to 
utter  a  suppressed  exclamation  of  painful  surprise. 

In  later  years,  or  rather,  in  the  sad  and  dark 
years  of  the  divorce,  King  Milan  on  several  occa- 
sions said  to  me,  "You  all,  who  know  Nathalie 
from  a  distance,  have  nothing  but  adoration  for  her, 
but  /  know  how  cruel  she  can  be  !  " 

The  newly-married  couple  had  no  "  honeymoon." 
The  Prince  could  not  absent  himself  for  even  a  day 
or  two.  The  excitement  in  the  country  was  growing 
more  dangerous  every  day.  The  Liberal  press  of 
Servia,  abetted  and  inspired  by  the  Slavophils  of 
Russia,  clamoured  for  war  against  Turkey.  Prince 
Milan  knew  well  that  Servia  was  not  prepared  for 
a  war,  either  with  regard  to  armament  or  financially. 
The  rumours  that  he  was  personally  opposed  to  it 
made  him  lose  his  popularity  in  certain  military  and 
political  circles.  The  friends  of  Peter  Karageorge- 
vich  began  at  once  to  exploit  the  situation.  The 
stories  of  the  military  genius  of  Kara-George  were 


14  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

revived  and  spread,  especially  among  the  officers 
and  young  politicians  already  heated  by  the  daily 
clamour  of  the  Liberal  press  (practically  the  Slavo- 
phil press):  "War  with  Turkey!  now  or  never!" 
Also,  the  news  of  the  personal  bravery  of  Prince 
Peter,  who  under  the  name  of  a  famous  national 
hero  of  old  time,  Mrkonich,  had  joined  the 
Servian  insurgents  of  Bosnia,  was  widely  circulated 
among  the  people,  with  comments  that  if  Milan 
Obrenovich  had  not  the  courage  or  capacity  to 
lead  the  Servians  against  the  Turks,  Peter  Kara- 
georgevich  would  have  both.  The  Russian  Slavo- 
phils, whose  aim  was  to  force  the  peace-loving  Tzar 
Alexander  n.  into  war  with  Turkey,  hoped  to  succeed 
by  pushing  forward  Servia  and  Montenegro  as  a  sort 
of  Russian  advance-guard ;  on  this  account  they 
attempted  to  utilise  the  anti-dynastic  elements  of 
Servia  to  intimidate  Prince  Milan  into  placing 
himself  at  their  service.  As  I  was  well  known  as 
a  personal  friend  of  the  Prince,  several  officers 
asked  me  to  inform  him  that  the  only  chance  to 
prevent  an  anti- dynastic  revolution  was  that 
Obrenovich  iv.  should  at  once  lead  the  Servian 
Army  against  the  Turks,  and  not  leave  that  truly 
national  and  noble  task  to  Peter  Karageorge- 
vich.  But  young  Milan  met  all  such  reports 
by  an  answer  which  for  some  time  at  least  was 
stereotyped : — 

"  Do  you  expect  me  to  try  to  save  the  dynasty 
by  leading  the  nation  into  a  war  which  must 
inevitably  end  by  our  defeat  on  the  battlefield  ? 


THE  BIRTH  OF  KING  ALEXANDER         15 

Neither  could  our  artillery  cope  with  the  Turkish 
artillery,  nor  could  our  National  Army  (the  militia) 
successfully  fight  with  the  Turkish  regular  troops. 
By  a  war  with  Turkey  in  our  present  state  we 
would  simply  march  deliberately  towards  a  catas- 
trophe ! " 

The  uncertainty  of  the  situation,  and  the  young 
Prince's  and  Princess's  resulting  anxiety  and  per- 
plexity, were  materially  increased  by  the  equivocal 
conduct  of  Russia.  Prince  Gortchakoff  repeatedly 
and  officially  advised  Prince  Milan  and  his  Govern- 
ment that  they  ought  by  all  means  preserve  the 
peace,  and  carefully  avoid  everything  that  could 
provoke  a  Turkish  attack  on  Servia ;  and  that  the 
Prince  would  incur  the  personal  displeasure  of  the 
Tzar  if  he  should  disregard  His  Imperial  Majesty's 
advice  in  this  respect,  given  in  the  interest  of 
Servia  as  well  as  that  of  the  general  peace.  At 
the  same  time  confidential  but  urgent  advices  came 
from  the  Russian  Ambassador  in  Constantinople, 
General  Ignyatieff,  that  in  the  interest  of  Servia, 
and  of  the  whole  Slavonic  world,  Servia  should  not 
hesitate  longer,  but  should  declare  war  on  Turkey 
at  once ! 

Prince  Milan,  although  not  exactly  a  Slavophil, 
was  a  sincere  Russophil,  and  his  Premier,  Mr. 
Yovan  Ristich,  was  not  only  a  Russophil,  but 
very  largely,  although  not  entirely,  a  Slavophil. 
Mr.  Ristich,  who  was  an  experienced  statesman, 
and  knew  well  the  methods  of  the  Russian  policy, 
persuaded  the  Prince  that  the  real  mind  of  Russia 


16  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

and  the  Tzar  was  that  expressed  in  Ignyatieff's 
confidential  communications,  and  that  Gortchakoff 's 
telegrams  were  only  practically  addressed  to  the 
gallery  of  "  Dame  Europe,"  and  were  not  expected 
to  be  taken  literally  by  Servia.  I  believe  the 
Prince  must  have  received  assurances  from  Russia, 
that  even  if  his  fears  of  Servian  defeat  should  be 
unfortunately  realised,  neither  Servia  nor  the 
Obrenovich  Dynasty  would  experience  unfavour- 
able consequences  by  such  a  defeat.  At  any- 
rate  Prince  Milan  declared  war  on  Turkey  on  the 
1 8th  June  1876. 

I  am  reviewing,  as  briefly  as  possible,  the 
political  situation  of  Servia  during  the  time 
intervening  between  the  marriage  of  Milan  and 
Nathalie  and  the  declaration  of  war  against 
Turkey,  simply  as  an  indication  of  the  exciting 
and  anxious  circumstances  in  which  the  young 
Princess  Nathalie  was  expecting  her  first  confine- 
ment. Would  it  be  extraordinary  if  the  great  and 
almost  permanent  tension  of  nerves  under  which 
the  young  mother  lived  all  those  months  had 
affected  the  nervous  constitution  of  her  first  boy? 

At  the  end  of  the  first  six  weeks  of  the  war, 
no  important  action  had  as  yet  taken  place.  In 
truth  the  war  was  not  popular  with  the  Servian 
peasantry.  I  have  seen  thousands  of  militia  pass 
the  barracks  of  Kralyevo  (where  I  had  installed 
my  offices  and  stores  as  Intendant  of  the  I  bar 
corps),  all  looking  earnest  and  gloomy.  I  hardly 


THE  BIRTH  OF  KING  ALEXANDER         17 

ever  heard  anyone  sing  a  patriotic  song,  or  cheer. 
The  individual  bravery  of  the  Turks  and  the 
greatness  of  the  Turkish  Empire  caused  the 
majority  of  the  militia  to  feel  that  we  had  no 
chance  against  the  Sultan.  The  gloom  was 
spreading  to  the  intelligent  class  too,  because  we 
all  expected  that,  immediately  after  our  declaration 
of  war,  the  Christians  in  general,  and  the  Servians 
more  particularly,  would  enthusiastically  rise  in  a 
general  insurrection  against  Turkey  in  Old  Servia 
and  in  Macedonia.  But  to  our  great  astonish- 
ment, and  utter  disgust,  not  a  man  rose  in  those 
provinces ! 

Each  day  our  depression  was  increased  by  our 
anxiety  as  to  what  the  next  day  would  bring,  as 
a  general  attack  by  the  Turkish  army  was  now 
daily  expected.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the 
1 4th  August  (the  2nd  August  according  to  the 
O.S.)  a  telegram  from  Krushevatz  announced  to 
our  office  that  from  the  east  great  cannonading 
was  heard,  and  that  the  peasants  just  arrived 
from  Moravia  were  stating  that  from  early  dawn 
the  firing  of  cannon  had  been  heard  in  the  distance 
all  along  the  fortification  line  from  Gyunis  to 
Deligrad.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  the  cannon 
of  a  battery,  which  was  temporarily  in  Kralyevo, 
began  to  fire,  and  the  Prefect  of  the  Canton  came 
to  show  me  the  telegram  from  the  Prefect  of 
Chachak  announcing  the  happy  confinement  of 
the  Princess  of  a  healthy  boy !  This  was 
announced  to  the  citizens  of  the  small,  but  pretty 


18  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

and  clean   town   of   Kralyevo    by   a   drummer  (a 
sort  of  town-crier),  and  they  immediately  decorated 
their  houses  with   national  flags,  shut  their  shops 
for  the  day,  and  brought  out  barrels  of  wine  and 
beer   to  the   central   square,   for   free  distribution 
to    the   soldiers    and    militiamen   and    every   man 
willing  to  drink  to  the  health  and   happiness   of 
the  new-born  heir  to  the  throne   of  Servia.      On 
that   day  Servia  had  nearly  a  hundred  thousand 
men  under  arms  at  different  strategic  points,  and 
they  all    abandoned   their  depression  and    gloom, 
and   heartily   cheered   the   news   that   the    Prince 
and  Princess  had  a  son,  and  the  country  an  heir 
to    the    throne.      The   officers   in   all   the   camps 
drank   heartily   to   the  health  of  the  boy,    whom 
they  declared  to  have  been  born  on  a  battlefield, 
and    whom    they    hoped    would   prove   to    be    a 
grand  soldier  and  a  great  leader  of  men,  a  new 
Dooshan,1   predestined    to   unite   all   the   Servian 
provinces    into    one    kingdom.      Even    the   super- 
stitious Servian  peasant  was  pleased,   because  he 
considered  the  birth  of  an  heir  to  their  sovereign 
just  then  as  a  good  omen  of  Servian  victory  over 
the  Turks.     I  do  not  exaggerate  when  I  say  that, 
excepting  a    handful   of  Prince    Karageorgevich's 
partisans,  the  vast  majority  of  the  Servians  greeted 
with  a  sincere  joy  and  with  their  best  wishes  the 
birth     of    Obrenovich    the    Fifth,     to    whom    his 
god-father,  Tzar  Alexander  n.,  gave,  through  his 

1  Dooshan  is   the  name  of  the  greatest   Servian  ruler  in   the 
Middle  Ages. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  KING  ALEXANDER         19 

representative  at  baptism,  his  own  name  — 
Alexander.  Is  it  not  a  strange  fact,  that 
Alexander  the  god  -  father  and  Alexander  the 
god  -  son,  both  died  by  a  violent  and  terrible 
death  ? 


CHAPTER   III 

SASHA'S  CHILDHOOD 

QUEEN  NATHALIE  loved  Servia  and  the  Servian 
people  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  a  young,  highly 
intelligent,  and  warm-hearted  woman.  She  very 
quickly  developed  into  a  true  Servian  patriot. 
But,  as  she  herself  used  always  to  say,  "  in  her 
innermost  heart  she  never  ceased  to  be  a  Russian, 
and  loved  Russia  probably,  and  at  least,  as  well  as 
she  loved  Servia." 

It  was  quite  natural  that  she  should  call  her 
boy  "Sasha,"  which  is  the  Russian  endearing  and 
caressing  diminutive  for  Alexander.  The  future 
King  Alexander  was  always  to  his  mother  and 
father,  their  relatives,  to  the  intimate  friends  of 
the  dynasty,  as  well  as,  later  on,  to  his  own 
sweetheart  and  wife  Draga,  nothing  but  Sasha. 
Queen  Nathalie's  beautiful  villa  in  Biarritz  bears 
to  this  day  the  name  "Sashino,"  which  means 
"Sasha's  Villa." 

King  Alexander  was  not  quite  twenty-seven 
years  old  when  he  was  murdered.  Of  these 
twenty-seven  years  of  his  life  the  first  nine  years 
only  of  his  childhood  were  something  like  happy 

20 


SASHA'S  CHILDHOOD  21 

years.       Even    his    early    youth    was    not    quite 
normal ;    he    was    practically   a    lonely    boy,    his 
parents  having  no  other  children,  and  there  being 
no   aristocracy   and    no   really    superior    class    of 
society    in     Servia,     the     young     boy     had     no 
companions    and     playmates,     but     was     always 
surrounded  by  grown-up   people.      Yet  the  poor 
little    boy,   from   amongst   more  or   less   polished 
officers    of   the    Court  and  grey-bearded,  serious- 
looking  statesmen  and  politicians,   who    filled  the 
ante-chamber  of  the  Konak,  looked  quite    happy 
with    his    fresh    complexion    and    dark   eyes   like 
those    of  his    mother.      And  more   especially   he 
looked    happy   if   he   was   able    to    commit   some 
practical  joke  on  his  grown-up   entourage.      He 
was    very   intelligent,    but    a    most    restless    and 
mischievous  boy,  and  exceedingly  wilful.     Queen 
Nathalie   and    his    first    governess,    Mademoiselle 
Pellingre   (a    Swiss   lady   of    Geneva),   had    hard 
work  with  his  education.     He  learned  very  easily 
and  quickly,  had  a  wonderful  memory,  astounded 
everybody    with    his    logical    reasoning    and    his 
arithmetical  and  mathematical  proclivities,  but  he 
rebelled    against    discipline    and    all    regulations. 
His  restlessness  and    mischievousness,  as  well  as 
his  bad   teeth,  made   Queen   Nathalie    sometimes 
despair. 

I    will   illustrate   with   one    or    two    examples 
what  a  young  rogue  the  little  Sasha  was. 

On  one  occasion  King  Milan  with  the  Queen 
and   the   little    Sasha  were   travelling  by  steamer 


22  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

up  the  river  Sava  to  visit  the  prosperous  town 
of  Shabatz.  The  well-to-do  citizens  hired  three 
steamers  and  came  to  meet  the  Royal  party  at 
some  distance  from  the  town.  The  steamers  were 
slowly  and  very  closely  passing  the  Royal  steamer, 
the  citizens  cheering  enthusiastically  the  little  Sasha, 
whom  I  was  holding  on  a  chair  in  front  of  me. 
"  Why  do  they  shout  so  much  ?  "  the  boy  asked, 
who  never  before  heard  a  cheering  crowd. 
"Because  they  love  you !  "  I  told  him.  Then,  to 
my  astonishment,  he  raised  his  voice  and  shouted  to 
the  citizens  crowding  the  steamers  :  "  Mijatovich 
says  you  love  me!  If  it  is  true  that  you  love  me, 
throw,  all  of  you,  your  hats  into  the  water !  "  And 
the  loyal  and  good  citizens  of  Shabatz  threw  their 
hats  into  the  river,  cheering  most  enthusiastically. 
King  Milan  was  amused,  and  laughed,  but  Queen 
Nathalie  was  greatly  annoyed,  and  reprimanded 
the  mischievous  Sasha  very  sharply  before  all  his 
cheering  friends. 

On  the  same  occasion  he  took  my  right  glove 
and  threw  it  into  the  river,  saying  to  me,  "  You 
know  some  fish  may  also  want  to  have  gloves ! " 
Queen  Nathalie  told  him  in  a  very  severe  tone  that 
he  would  have  to  be  punished  for  mischief-making. 
A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  he  managed  to  get  my 
left  glove  too,  and  threw  it  into  the  river.  The 
Queen,  quite  flushed  with  annoyance,  angrily 
said,  "  Sasha,  for  this  new  misdeed  your  first 
punishment  will  be  to-night  trebled."  "  But, 
mamma,"  said  the  little  boy  very  quickly,  "that 


SASHA'S  CHILDHOOD  23 

would  not  be  right !  You  were  right  to  punish  me 
for  my  throwing  Mr.  Mijatovich's  right  glove  to 
the  fishes,  but  why  punish  me  when  I  throw  his 
left  glove,  which  is  no  value  to  him  without  the 
right  one  ?  " 

Once  when  Sasha  was  in  his  tenth  year  he  rushed 
into  the  great  Hall  of  the  Palace,  not  knowing 
that  the  King  and  Queen  were  receiving  there  a 
great  deputation  of  the  National  Assembly.  The 
Queen  beckoned  to  him  to  come  to  her,  and  he  did 
so,  standing  in  front  of  her.  He  listened  quietly 
for  some  time,  but  as  King  Milan's  eloquence 
flowed  on  continually  without  stopping,  the  boy 
became  restless  and  looked  how  he  could  escape. 
The  Queen  bent  over  him  and  whispered  to  him 
somewhat  audibly,  "  Sasha,  keep  quiet,  or  another 
time  we  shall  not  let  you  be  with  us  when  we 
receive  deputations  ! "  Whereupon  the  little  boy, 
in  the  hearing  of  all,  replied,  "  Do  you  think, 
mamma,  I  shall  be  such  a  fool  as  to  come  again  to 
listen  to  the  long  speeches  of  papa  ?  Not  I ! " 
King  Milan  was  the  first  to  laugh  heartily,  finishing 
in  that  way  his  speech  to  the  deputies,  who  cheered 
lustily,  probably  more  for  the  spirited  boy  than 
his  eloquent  papa.  I  was  present  on  the 
occasion. 

To  be  absolutely  impartial  I  must  tell  another 
incident  which  seemed  to  me  at  the  time  it  happened 
very  characteristic,  and  which  affected  me  sadly. 
On  the  return  of  King  Milan  from  a  foreign  voyage 
in  1882,  when  he  was  entering  the  Belgrade 


24  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Cathedral  a  woman  fired  two  shots  at  him  from  a 
revolver.  Although  the  King  was  not  wounded 
there  was  great  excitement  in  the  town  and  at  the 
Palace.  The  little  Sasha,  far  more  curious  and 
inquisitive  than  the  average  boy  of  six  years 
generally  is,  tried  to  find  out  what  was  really  the 
cause  for  so  much  commotion  in  the  Palace  as  well 
as  in  the  streets.  At  last  he  rushed  to  his  particular 
friend,  General  Tesha  Nicolich,  the  War  Minister. 
That  giant  among  the  Servian  officers,  always  a 
jolly  and  jovial  fellow,  took  the  little  boy  on  his 
knee  and  laughingly  told  him  how  a  foolish  woman 
tried  to  kill  his  papa.  The  poor  little  Sasha  wept 
bitter  tears  because  anyone  wanted  to  kill  his  good 
papa.  I  approached  him,  and  helped  the  General 
to  quiet  the  grief  of  the  boy.  Then  suddenly  the 
boy's  face  was  transfigured.  He  stopped  crying, 
looked  pale  and  trembling,  jumped  down  from  the 
General's  knee,  and  in  a  great  anger  said  to  him, 
"  Tesha,  go  at  once  with  your  soldiers  and  catch 
that  wicked  woman,  and  with  your  own  sword  cut 
her  into  pieces,  and  throw  them  into  that  deep  well 
in  our  garden  !  "  General  Tesha  laughed  heartily, 
but  I  was  dumbfounded,  and  wondered  at  such  an 
explosion  of  cruelty  in  a  little  boy.  In  after  years 
whenever  I  heard  King  Alexander  use  a  cruel 
word  I  invariably  remembered  this  incident  of 
1882. 

But  on  the  whole,  during  the  first  nine  years  of 
his  life  Sasha  was  a  charming  and  most  affectionate 
boy. 


SASHA'S  CHILDHOOD  26 

With  the  very  beginning  of  the  second  period  of 
nine  years  of  the  short  and  sad  life  of  Alexander 
Obrenovich,  dark  clouds  began  to  overshadow  his 
young  heart.  Affectionately  loving  both  his  father 
and  his  mother,  he  suddenly  found  himself  between 
them  the  kicking  ball  of  their  mutual  hatred.  How 
it  came  about  that  Milan  and  Nathalie,  who  married 
from  love  at  first  sight,  transformed  their  mutual 
love  into  the  most  uncompromising  hatred  I  do  not 
intend  to  tell  here.  It  would  complicate  the  great 
tragedy  by  another,  not  so  terrible,  but  sad,  very  sad, 
in  which  neither  of  his  parents  played  consistently 
a  noble  part.  Perhaps  the  most  dramatic  element 
in  the  Milan- Nathalie  tragedy  was  the  assertion  of 
each  party  that  they  loved  their  boy.  Because  of 
his  devoted  love  for  his  boy  King  Milan  moved 
heaven  and  earth  to  take  him  away  from  the  arms 
of  his  mother ;  while  Queen  Nathalie  professed  that 
because  she  was  an  intensely  loving  mother  she 
could  not  bear  the  separation  from  her  most  beloved 
and  only  boy  Sasha.  They  preferred  to  fight  a 
most  ignominious  fight  before  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
and  before  the  eyes  of  their  utterly  distracted  and 
despairing  little  boy.  Queen  Nathalie  refused  to 
return  the  boy  to  his  father,  the  heir  to  the  throne 
of  Servia.  King  Milan  did  not  hesitate  to  appeal 
to  the  German  policy,  and  the  German  policemen 
had  to  enter  the  apartments  of  Queen  Nathalie  and 
take  by  force  from  her  arms  the  poor,  bitterly 
weeping  boy.  This  scandal,  created  by  Milan  and 
Nathalie  in  Wiesbaden,  resounded  from  one  end 


26  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

of  the  world  to  the  other.  It  was  painful  and 
humiliating  enough,  and  it  would  be  no  wonder  if 
it  had  then  and  there  eradicated  every  affec- 
tion for  his  parents  from  the  young  heart  of  the 
boy. 

Then  came  the  second  and  somewhat  protracted 
scandal.  King  Milan  demanded  from  the  Servian 
Church  to  be  divorced  from  Queen  Nathalie. 
Everybody  in  Servia  knew  well  that  Queen 
Nathalie  was  an  absolutely  virtuous  woman,  and 
Milan  neither  did  nor  could  reproach  her  for 
incontinence.  The  incompatibility  of  temper  which 
he  practically  invoked  was  not  a  valid  reason  for 
divorce  in  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church.  His  action 
for  divorce  was  first  started  before  the  ordinary 
ecclesiastic  Church.  But  when  it  was  seen  that  the 
regular  procedure  might  last  a  whole  year,  keeping 
all  that  time  the  scandal  before  the  people  of  Servia, 
who  began  to  show  some  signs  of  impatience, 
then  it  was  necessary  to  hunt  for  some  precedents 
in  the  old  Byzantine  Empire  and  in  Russia.  In 
the  last  country  it  was  found  that  the  Tzars  had 
been  sometimes  divorced  by  the  simple  edict 
(Grammota)of  the  Metropolitan,  and,  following  such 
precedents  in  the  "  Holy  Orthodox  Russia,"  the 
Archbishop  Theodosius,  the  Primate  of  Servia, 
declared  the  marriage  bond  between  King  Milan 
and  Queen  Nathalie  dissolved. 

These  proceedings,  lasting  from  June  to  the 
middle  of  September  1888,  had  paralysed  the 
political  life  of  Servia  and  disorganised  the  great 


SASHA'S  CHILDHOOD  27 

party  of  Obrenovich,  strengthening  at  the  same 
time  and  encouraging  the  partisans  of  the  Pretender 
Karageorgevich.  Russia,  hating  King  Milan  as  a 
sort  of  deserter  and  traitor  of  the  " Slavonic  Cause," 
utilised  the  general  dissatisfaction  of  thq  people 
with  the  King's  divorce,  and  organised  in  Europe, 
and  more  especially  in  Servia,  a  regular  campaign 
of  the  most  unscrupulous  calumnies  against  King 
Milan.  At  the  same  time  the  mistress  of  the  King, 
Mme.  Arthemise  Christich,  always  suspected  to 
have  been  a  secret  agent  of  Russia,  began  to  suggest 
to  King  Milan  to  abdicate. 

The  idea  of  abdication  was  cleverly  counselled 
him  by  his  mistress  immediately  after  the  first 
difficulties  encountered  with  the  regular  ecclesiastical 
court  of  divorces.  Passing  through  Vienna  on  his 
way  to  Gleichenberg  (the  famous  watering-place  for 
lung  diseases  near  Gratz  in  Styria)  in  the  beginning 
of  July  1888,  he  communicated  his  intention  to  some 
intimate  friends  in  the  Austrian  capital.  As 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  in  Mr.  Nicholas 
Christich's  Cabinet,  I  received  confidential  informa- 
tion, and  wrote  at  once  a  very  outspoken  letter  to 
King  Milan,  showing  him  plainly  the  cowardliness 
of  such  an  act,  and  the  great  sin  which  he  would 
commit  against  his  son  if  he  were  to  pass  the 
crown  to  the  boy,  as  his  education  had  been  hardly 
begun.  The  King  invited  me  to  come  at  once  to 
Gleichenberg.  There  for  five  days  I  argued  against 
his  fatal  idea  of  abdication.  My  appeal  to  him  on 
behalf  of  his  son  did  not  produce  much  effect.  To 


28  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

one  of  such  arguments  he  said  :  "  You  know  my 
Sasha  is  to  me  by  far  the  dearest  creature  in  the 
world,  yet  from  time  to  time  he  seems  to  me  a  sort 
of  disguised  personification  of  his  mother.  He 
has  sometimes  her  cold,  cruel  laugh."  I  made  on 
him  more  impression  by  showing  him  that  to 
descend  from  the  throne  at  that  particular  time, 
when  his  own  actions  gave  to  his  wife  and  to 
Russia  the  opportunity  to  represent  him  in  the 
European  press  as  the  meanest  of  men,  would  be 
his  moral  suicide  for  all  time.  I  suggested  to  him 
to  postpone  his  abdication  until  his  son  came  of 
age,  in  five  years,  and  use  that  time  to  give  his  son 
a  solid  preparation  for  his  position,  educate  him  as 
the  future  King  of  Servia  ought  to  be  educated, 
and  at  the  same  time  doing  good  to  his  people, 
so  that  he  would  regain  his  somewhat  tarnished 
popularity  in  Servia,  and  re-establish  his  own  good 
reputation  in  Europe,  which  certain  newspapers 
in  Austria,  Germany,  and  France,  paid  by  Russia, 
had  seriously  compromised.  I  drew  up  for  him  a 
programme  of  what  he  could  and  ought  to  do,  the 
first  article  being  that  now,  when  nobody  in  Servia 
hopes  to  get  a  better  and  more  liberal  Constitution, 
he  should  by  his  own  personal  initiative  grant  the 
nation  a  truly  liberal  and  well-considered  Constitu- 
tion. He  seemed  to  be  much  impressed,  and  lecT\ 
me  to  believe  that  he  accepted  it  entirely  and  in  all 
its  details.  In  reality  he  executed  only  the  first 
article,  and  instead  of  abdicating  in  1897  he 
abdicated  on  the  22nd  February  1889. 


SASHA'S  CHILDHOOD  29 

Sasha  was  in  the  middle  of  his  thirteenth  year 
when  he  was  proclaimed  King  of  Servia  (12  years 
6  months  and  20  days).  We  Servians  are 
rather  superstitious  people,  and  I  know  many 
friends  of  the  dynasty  Obrenovich  who  considered 
it  an  evil  omen  that  King  Alexander  ascended  the 
throne  of  Servia  in  his  thirteenth  year.  The  ex- 
traordinary calmness,  self-possession,  and  dignity 
with  which  the  boy  conducted  himself  on  that 
memorable  day  on  which  he  was  by  his  own  father 
proclaimed,  in  the  White  Hall  of  the  New  Palace, 
King  of  Servia,  was  very  much  appreciated.  No 
one  admired  him  more  than  his  own  father.  No 
one  less  than  I  personally.  It  seemed  to  me  so 
unnatural  that  this  boy  of  twelve  and  a  half  years, 
surrounded  by  the  civil  State  dignitaries  and  higher 
officers  all  deeply  moved,  most  of  them  in  tears 
and  loudly  sobbing,  his  own  father  kneeling 
before  him  pronouncing  the  oath  of  fidelity  as 
subject  to  his  new  King,  should  not  betray 
the  slightest  emotion!  Has  he  a  heart?  Has  he 
nerves?  No,  this  was  evidently  not  an  ordinary 
boy. 

I  left  the  Palace  deeply  saddened.  I  felt 
strongly  that  my  adored  King  Milan  had  committed 
a  terrible  and  fatal  mistake.  And  I  was  puzzled 
about  that  cold  face  of  the  boy  King.  I  tried  to 
explain  it.  The  public,  acrimonious,  and  most 
unscrupulous  struggle  of  his  parents,  and  the 
scandal  of  their  divorce, — how  could  they  but  fill 
the  young  heart  of  this  boy  with  shame  and  bitter- 


30  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

ness?  They  certainly  could  not  plant,  and  much 
less  develop,  noble  sentiments  in  his  heart.  The 
permanence  and  the  growth  of  the  anti-dynastic 
movement,  the  incessant  precautions  under  which 
the  Royal  Court  had  to  live,  the  intrigues  of  the 
foreign  Powers,  what  influence  could  they  exercise 
on  the  young  boy's  character,  whose  sharp  and 
intelligent  eyes  they  did  not  escape  ?  Nothing  but 
the  most  pernicious  influence.  Nor  did  I  forget 
that  Dr.  Dokich,  to  whose  educational  care  Sasha 
since  his  seventh  year  was  entrusted,  although  an 
able  physician  and  scientist,  and  a  man  of  high 
morality,  practically  was  an  atheist,  whose  principal 
and  almost  exclusive  anxiety  was  to  keep  the  boy 
in  good  physical  health  and  to  give  him  a  certain 
amount  of  scientific  information.  No  one  took  care 
for  his  religious  and  moral  education.  The  Court 
Chaplain,  Prota  Yacov  (who  will  later  on,  as  Arch- 
bishop Inokentiye,  bless  the  murderers  of  King 
Alexander),  succeeded  only  in  making  religion  an 
object  for  witty  observations  and  awkward  questions 
on  the  part  of  his  Royal  pupil.  And  his  own 
parents,  would  they  have  persecuted  each  other 
with  such  a  persistent  and  unscrupulous  hatred  as 
they  did,  if  they  had  cared  better  for  his  moral 
education,  for  the  development  of  all  that  was  noble 
and  good,  and  for  the  suppression  of  all  that  was 
mean  and  bad  ?  The  unfortunate  boy,  who  became 
King  in  his  thirteenth  year,  passed  the  last  three 
years  of  his  childhood  under  most  demoralising  and 
sad  circumstances.  There  could  be  no  wonder 


SASHA'S  CHILDHOOD 


31 


that  on  the  first,  the  most  solemn  and  most 
emotional,  occasion  he  appeared  as  King,  he 
looked  as  if  he  had  been  made  of  cold  marble 
and  not  of  ftesh  and  blood,  a  boy  in  his  thirteenth 
year ! 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   SILENT    BOY   KING 

THE  circumstances  in  which  the  so-called  "  educa- 
tion "  of  the  young  King  Alexander  was  pursued, 
were  most  depressing. 

Having  decided  to  leave  his  son  and  his  country, 
King  Milan's  great  study  was  how  to  prevent 
Queen  Nathalie  exercising  any  influence  on  his 
son  and  his  country.  It  seems  that  before  he 
appointed  Mr.  Yovan  Ristich,  General  Yotza 
Belimarkovich,  and  General  Kosta  Protich  the 
Regents  of  the  Kingdom  during  King  Alexander's 
minority,  King  Milan  exacted  from  them  a  promise 
that  on  no  account  would  they  allow  Queen 
Nathalie  to  have  the  slightest  influence  on  the 
education  of  her  son,  the  young  King.  He 
delivered  his  son  to  them  on  the  condition  that 
they  should  become  a  safe  and  solid  barrier,  closing 
every  approach  by  which  Queen  Nathalie  could 
reach  her  son.  On  that  understanding  he  was 
ready  to  separate  himself  from  his  son  and  go  into 
voluntary  exile.  He  loved  his  son  and  loved  his 
country,  but  was  willing  to  put  himself  under  the 
permanent  torture  of  living  away  from  them  if  he 


THE  SILENT  BOY  KING  33 

could  prevent  Nathalie  being  cvvith  her  son  !  King 
Milan  was  not  a  cruel  man,  but  to  his  divorced 
wife  he  behaved  often  with  cruelty.  Queen 
Nathalie,  on  her  part,  would  gladly  undergo  any 
torture  if  she  only  could  thereby  inflict  suffering 
and  humiliation  on  King  Milan.  These  two  other- 
wise highly  intelligent  people  continued  their  cruel 
struggle  against  each  other  under  the  eyes  of  their 
young  boy,  without  giving  a  moment's  consideration 
to  the  fact  that  to  him  their  behaviour  was  most 
cruel. 

It  is,  of  course,  charitable  to  suppose  that  Queen 
Nathalie's  motives  for  her  action  were  in  the  first 
place  her  motherly  love  for  her  son,  and  the 
sentiment  of  her  maternal  duty  towards  him.  But 
this  sentiment  of  duty  was  made  the  more  impera- 
tive by  the  sweet  consideration  that  the  fulfilment 
of  her  duty  towards  her  son  would  cause  annoyance 
and  humiliation  to  her  hated  husband,  Milan. 

She  decided  to  come  to  Belgrade  and  take  her 
position  in  the  Palace  as  the  mother  of  the  King. 
She  came  to  Belgrade,  but  only  to  find  that,  at  the 
order  of  the  Regents,  all  the  gates  of  the  Palace 
had  been  closed  to  her.  The  young  boy  King  could 
see  from  one  of  the  windows  of  the  Palace  how  his 
mother  had  to  turn  away  from  its  closed  gates, 
scrutinising  eagerly  every  window  of  the  old 
Konak  in  the  hope  of  seeing  the  face  of  her  boy. 
It  was  indeed  cruel. 

The  Regents  informed  the  mother  of  their  King 
that  she  would  not  be  allowed  to  enter  the  Palace, 
3 


34  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

nor  speak  to  her  son,  nor  keep  up  a  correspondence 
with  him.  The  same  cruel  programme  was  en- 
joined on  the  young  King,  and  all  his  teachers, 
professors,  equerries,  and  servants  were  ordered  to 
co-operate  in  its  strict  execution.  The  Queen  was 
advised,  and  -politely  requested  by  the  Regents  and 
their  Government,  to  leave  Belgrade.  She  refused 
to  do  so.  She  hired  a  house  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  of  the  Palace,  a  house  past  which 
the  young  King,  surrounded  by  guards,  drove 
every  day,  so  that  his  unfortunate  mother  could 
from  time  to  time  catch  a  glimpse  of  his  face. 

If  the  imagination  of  a  sensational  novelist  had 
created  such  a  tragic  situation,  his  readers  would 
say  that  such  a  situation  was  impossible  in  real  life. 
Yet  here  was  a  woman,  and  a  queen  too, — young, 
beautiful,  high-spirited,  loving  passionately  and 
hating  passionately, — watching  eagerly  every  day 
from  the  window  of  a  one-storeyed  and  incon- 
venient house  (once  belonging  to  Princess  Persida 
Karageorgevich,  the  mother  of  King  Peter!)  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  her  only  boy !  And  there  was 
that  poor  boy,  surrounded  by  more  or  less  rough 
horsemen,  throwing  silently  his  sad  glance  towards 
the  windows,  that  he  might  get,  perchance,  a  glimpse 
of  his  mother !  The  Regents  thought  they  were 
behaving  like  gentlemen  by  keeping  their  promise 
to  King  Milan.  In  reality  they  were  daily  putting 
under  agony  the  heart  of  a  mother,  perhaps  also 
the  heart  of  a  boy  !  The  young  boy  King  was  sad 
and  silent.  No  one  knew  what  was  passing  in  his 


THE  SILENT  BOY  KING  35 

young  soul.  But  every  student  of  human  nature 
must  feel  that  that  extraordinary  situation  could 
not,  from  an  educational  point  of  view,  otherwise 
but  disastrously  influence  the  formation  of  character 
of  the  young  boy  King. 

This  condition  of  affairs  could  not  go  on 
indefinitely  for  those  principally  concerned  in 
it.  The  Regents  were  first  to  find  the  tragedy 
unbearable.  They  considered  how  to  end  it 
as  speedily  as  possible.  They  hit  upon  an  extra- 
ordinary plan.  Who  was  the  originator  I  do  not 
know.  Some  believe  it  was  the  fertile  brain  of 
King  Milan,  who  was  ready  to  humiliate  himself  if 
he  could  only  revenge  himself  on  his  divorced  wife. 
Others,  again,  believe  the  plan  originated  with  the 
Russian  Government,  which  would  not  hesitate  to 
sacrifice  Queen  Nathalie,  so  faithful  and  devoted  to 
Russia,  if  only  the  gates  of  Servia  were  shut  and 
securely  bolted  against  Russia's  b&te  noire,  King 
Milan.  Anyhow,  a  Bill  was  brought  into  the 
National  Assembly  proposing  that  neither  King 
Milan,  the  father  of  His  Majesty  King  Alexander, 
nor  Queen  Nathalie,  the  mother  of  His  Majesty, 
should  be  allowed  to  reside  even  temporarily  in 
Servia,  and  once  out  of  the  country  they  should 
never  be  permitted  to  re-enter  it  again.  The  Radical 
majority  of  the  National  Assembly,  permeated  as 
it  was  by  friends  and  agents  of  the  Pretender, 
voted  with  enthusiasm  the  expulsion  of  King  Milan 
and  Queen  Nathalie  for  ever  from  Servia ! 

It  was  the  second  great  blow  to  the  foundations 


36  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

of  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty.  Who  would  have 
respect  for  the  helpless  boy  on  the  throne  when  his 
gifted  father,  who  made  Servia  an  independent 
kingdom  with  largely  increased  territory,  and  his 
once  so  highly  and  justly  popular  mother,  are 
expelled  and  forbidden  to  enter  the  country  to 
which  they  both  were  sincerely  and  fervently 
devoted  ?  The  law  was  a  monument  of  the 
ingratitude  of  the  people.  It  was  unjust  and  cruel 
to  King  Milan  and  to  Queen  Nathalie,  and  still 
more  unjust  and  cruel  to  the  boy  King  Alexander. 
Was  that  the  lesson  of  generosity  and  of  largeness 
of  heart  which  Servia  was  giving  to  her  young 
King?  Did  not  the  Regents,  their  Government, 
and  the  Skupshtina  act  as  if  they  expected  that  the 
poor  boy,  who  had  the  misfortune  to  be  their  King, 
should  mortify  all  his  love  for  his  father  and 
mother?  Did  they  not  teach  him  to  behave  like 
an  unnatural  boy?  Did  no  one  consider  what  a 
dangerous  education  they  were  giving  to  their 
young  King? 

Immediately  after  the  resolution  was  passed  by 
the  National  Assembly,  the  Government  requested 
Queen  Nathalie  to  leave  Belgrade.  On  her  refusal 
to  do  so,  a  police  commissioner,  with  several  armed 
policemen,  were  ordered  to  take  her  by  force  to  one 
of  the  steamers  plying  every  half-hour  between 
Belgrade  and  the  Hungarian  frontier-town,  Zimony. 
As  the  great  and  heavy  gate  of  the  house  in  which 
Queen  Nathalie  lived  was  closed  and  barred,  the 
police  commissioner  and  his  men  had  to  climb 


THE  SILENT  BOY  KING  37 

from  the  neighbouring  yards  over  the  walls  into  the 
yard  of  the  Queen's  temporary  home.  When  the 
police  force  reached  her  private  sitting-room, 
Queen  Nathalie  protested  against  the  violent  and 
illegal  action  of  the  Government,  but  at  the  same 
time  declared  she  was  ready  to  yield  to  their 
violence.  A  common  and  dirty  cab  was  called,  and 
the  proud  Queen  Nathalie  had  to  take  her  seat  in 
it  at  the  side  of  the  personally  most  distressed 
police  commissioner,  and  with  a  fully-armed 
gendarme  on  the  seat  near  the  coachman. 

The  cab  passed  the  Palace.  Did  poor  Sasha 
witness  the  humiliation  of  his  queenly  mother  ?  I 
do  not  know ;  but  he  certainly  was  at  that  time  in 
the  Palace. 

Crowds  of  the  people  gathered  in  the  principal 
streets  leading  to  the  steamer's  pier.  Their  natural 
and  general  sentiment  was  that  their  headstrong 
and  imperious  Queen  had  been  harshly  and  un- 
deservedly treated.  Suddenly  a  group  of  young 
men  stopped  the  cab,  drove  away  the  police 
commissioner  and  the  police,  as  well  as  the  cabman, 
took  out  the  horses,  turned  the  carriage,  and  dragged 
it,  with  Queen  Nathalie  in  tears  from  deep  emotion, 
back  to  her  house,  through  the  principal  streets  of 
Belgrade,  and  past  the  Palace  of  her  boy.  Dense 
crowds  of  men  and  women  followed  her,  enthusias- 
tically cheering.  If  poor  Sasha  did  not  see  half 
an  hour  earlier  the  humiliation  of  his  mother,  he 
must  have  seen,  attracted  by  the  incessant  cheers 
of  the  crowds,  her  triumph. 


38  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

A  few  moments  after  she  reached  her  house, 
several  companies  of  soldiers  and  gendarmes 
summoned  the  dense  crowd  in  front  of  the  house  to 
disperse.  When  the  people  refused  to  do  so  the 
soldiers  fired,  killing  a  few  young  men  and  wounding 
many.  Queen  Nathalie  then  induced  the  people 
to  disperse,  telling  them  that  to  prevent  further 
bloodshed  she  would  of  her  own  will  leave 
Belgrade.  This  she  did  the  same  evening. 

What  a  day  for  the  poor  mother  of  the  boy 
King !  What  a  day  for  Servia,  and  especially  what 
a  day  for  the  boy  King  himself!  Is  it  possible  that 
such  a  day  has  not  exercised  a  deep  impression  on 
the  mind  and  heart  of  the  young  boy,  filling  it  with 
contempt,  bitterness,  and  hatred  ?  All  the  action 
of  the  Regents,  their  Government,  their  National 
Assembly,  and  the  police,  was  fundamentally  wrong, 
and  indeed  immoral.  How  can  it  be  expected  that 
such  action  should  favourably  influence  the  moral 
education  of  the  boy  King  ? 

In  my  opinion,  he  was  at  that  time  decidedly 
more  sinned  against  than  sinning. 


CHAPTER  V 

HOW   THE    SILENT    SASHA    BECAME    "  ALEXANDER 
THE   GREAT  " 

IN  the  preceding  chapter  I  mentioned  those  dramatic 
and  tragic  events,  the  resolution  of  the  National 
Assembly  forbidding  the  parents  of  King  Alexander 
to  sojourn  in  Servia,  and  the  terrible  expulsion  of 
Queen  Nathalie  from  Belgrade,  which  demoralised 
the  Obrenovich  Party  and  weakened  the  position 
of  the  dynasty  in  Servia.  I  allowed  readers  them- 
selves to  conjecture  the  pernicious  influence  those 
sad  events  must  have  exercised  on  the  character 
of  the  young  boy  King  Alexander. 

Further  political  developments  worked  fatally 
in  the  same  direction.  The  Regency  was  com- 
posed of  at  least  two  very  strong  Liberals  (Ristich 
and  Belimarkovich),  even  if  we  admit  that  General 
Protich,  the  third  Regent,  did  not  formally  belong 
to  the  Liberal  Party,  although  practically  he  shared 
their  opinion  and  their  programme.  The  Liberals 
have  since  the  restoration  of  the  dynasty  of 
Obrenovich  in  1859  always  boasted  that  they 
were  the  true  dynastic  party.  The  Radicals 
followed  blindly  the  leaders,  who  were  always 


40  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

bitter  opponents  of  the  Obrenovich,  and  who 
were  more  than  suspected  of  working  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Karageorgevich  Dynasty.  The 
Liberal  Regency  and  the  Radical  Government  were 
obliged  to  carry  on  the  legislation  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  country  ;  but  they  were  watching 
each  other  with  great  misgivings  and  suspicion. 
I  know  as  a  positive  fact  that  the  Regents  feared 
that  their  own  Radical  Government,  having  so 
successfully  "  buried  alive  King  Milan  and  Queen 
Nathalie,"  might  one  night  by  a  coup  de  main  arrest 
the  Regents,  kill  or  carry  out  of  the  country  the 
young  King  Alexander,  and  proclaim  King  Peter 
Karageorgevich  King  of  Servia.  The  Radicals, 
although  they  had  an  enormous  majority  in  the 
Assembly,  and  practically  had  the  administration  of 
the  country  in  their  hands,  felt  keenly  that  so  long 
as  the  Liberals,  through  the  Regents,  exercised 
practically  the  Royal  power,  they  were  not  the 
masters  of  the  situation  as  they  ought  and  wished 
to  be,  and  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  Regency 
the  struggle  for  supremacy  between  the  Radicals 
and  Liberals  went  on,  although  both  sides  were 
anxious  for  the  time  being  to  save  appearances. 

But  something  unexpected  then  happened  which 
forced  upon  the  country  a  real  political  crisis.  The 
third  Regent,  General  Kosta  Protich  died  suddenly 
in  June  1891.  Immediately  the  Radicals  declared 
that  his  place  in  the  Regency  must  be  taken 
by  their  leader,  Mr.  Nichola  Pashich.  The  two 
Regents,  Ristich  and  Belimarkovich,  considered 


SASH  A  NAMED  "ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT"  41 

it  their  duty  to  prevent  the  election  of  a  Radical 
as  the  third  Regent.  The  Radical  Government 
insisted  that  the  National  Assembly  should  be  con- 
voked at  once,  to  elect  the  third  Regent.  The 
Regents  thought  differently.  To  exercise  pressure 
on  the  Regency  the  Radical  Government  placed  it 
in  the  dilemma,  either  of  summoning  at  once  the 
Assembly  for  the  purpose  of  electing  the  third 
Regent,  or  accepting  their  resignation.  The 
Regents,  to  the  utter  astonishment  of  the  Radicals, 
accepted  their  resignation,  and  requested  Mr. 
Avakumovich  to  form  a  Liberal  Cabinet. 

Then  began  a  violent  and  passionate  struggle 
between  the  Liberals  and  the  Radicals.  The  latter 
had  undoubtedly  a  great  majority  in  the  country, 
especially  among  the  peasants  ;  but  the  Liberals  had 
the  administration  of  the  country  in  their  hands. 
They  dissolved  the  Radical  Skupshtina,  replaced 
the  Radical  Prefects,  and  other  influential  employe's 
of  the  State,  by  experienced  and  energetic  Liberals, 
who  exercised  all  sorts  of  influences  to  secure  the 
election  of  Liberals  as  Presidents  of  village  com- 
munities, and  after  this  preparatory  work  of  several 
months  undertook  the  general  election  for  the  new 
Skupshtina.  The  Radicals  were  better  organised. 
They  were  fortunate  enough  to  have  the  majority 
of  the  village  priests  and  village  teachers  for  their 
partisans,  and  these  proved  most  active  and  energetic 
agents.  Both  parties  did  not  hesitate  in  the  choice  of 
means  to  secure  victory  at  the  election.  The  Radicals 
described  the  Liberal  Regents  and  the  Liberal 


42  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Ministers  as  old  enemies  of  the  national  liberties, 
who  desired  to  place  the  people  under  the  heel  of 
the  Chinovniks,  that  these  might  oppress  them,  and 
increase  taxation  to  fill  their  own  pockets.  The 
Liberals  described  the  Radicals  as  the  sworn  enemies 
of  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty,  which  had  done  such 
signal  service  to  the  country,  and  hinted  that  all 
those  who  voted  for  the  Radicals  would  be  named 
in  the  police  registers  as  men  suspected  of  the  anti- 
dynastic  sentiment,  and  treated  by  the  State  author- 
ities as  such.  There  is  no  doubt  that  in  their 
anxiety  to  secure  a  majority,  the  police  authorities 
exercised  in  some  places  brutal  pressure  on  the 
electors.  One  place  in  the  Canton  of  Dragachevo 
(notorious  for  its  opposition  to  the  rulers  of  the 
Obrenovich  Dynasty)  came  to  an  open  riot,  to 
suppress  which  the  police  called  soldiers  to  their 
aid,  and  caused  some  bloodshed. 

But  in  spite  of  the  reckless  energy  of  the  Liberal 
Government,  the  number  of  the  Liberal  members 
hardly  balanced  the  number  of  the  Radical  members. 
In  normal  circumstances  the  Government  ought  to 
have  resigned.  But  the  Liberals  persuaded  them- 
selves that  the  interest  of  the  dynasty,  as  well  as 
the  interest  of  the  State,  demanded  more  than  ever 
that  they  should  hold  office.  They  decided  to  annul 
several  Radical  elections,  and  put  the  Liberals  in 
their  places,  regardless  of  the  illegality  of  such  an  act. 
Of  course,  such  a  policy  increased  the  bitterness  of 
the  Radical  opposition  and  the  excitement  in  the 
country.  The  Liberal  Government  committed  so 


SASHA  NAMED  "ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT  r    43 

many  illegalities  during  the  electoral  campaign  that 
they  did  not  mind  committing  a  few  more.  They 
succeeded  in  creating  for  themselves  an  artificial 
although  a  small  and  unreliable  majority  in  the 
Assembly,  and  determined  to  continue  their  policy 
of  intimidation  and  almost  of  terrorisation. 

The   political   situation   was  undoubtedly  very 
strained,  and  nobody  knew  how  matters  would  end. 

Then  something  happened  that  nobody  could 
have  foreseen.  The  silent,  pale,  and  cold-looking 
boy  King  invited  the  Regents  and  the  principal 
Members  of  the  Cabinet  to  dine  with  him  in  the 
Palace  on  the  night  of  the  I2th  April.  They  came, 
and  seemingly  enjoyed  the  typically  Servian  dishes, 
for  the  Regency  thought  it  their  patriotic  duty  to 
accustom  the  young  Kjng  to  be  patriotic  even  in 
his  culinary  tastes,  and  they  consequently  banished 
from  the  Palace  the  French  chef  of  King  Milan's 
celebrated  French  cuisine.  Mr.  Ristich  was,  as 
usual,  grave  and  reserved,  but  his  colleague  the 
second  Regent,  General  Belimarkovich,  was  more 
than  usually  gay  and  talkative.  The  Home  Minister, 
Mr.  Ribaratz,  was  very  confident  that  he  would  be 
able  to  lead  the  Skupshtina  successfully  through  its 
indispensable  legislative  work,  and  then  adjourn  it. 
Some  witticisms  were  cracked  at  the  expense  of  the 
Radical  Party.  The  company  laughed  heartily. 
The  young  boy  King  did  not  join  in  the  laugh, 
but  he  hardly  ever  did  laugh. 

The  dinner  was  not  yet  ended — for  some  reason 
or  other  the  service  seemed   very  slow,   and  the 


44  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

young  King  looked  at  his  watch.  He,  generally  so 
remarkably  self-possessed  for  a  boy,  seemed  to  be 
somewhat  distracted  and  restless,  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  be  noticed  by  the  members  of  the  Government. 

Then  Lieutenant-Colonel  Tyirich,  the  King's 
first  Aide-de-Camp,  entered  the  Banqueting  Hall, 
walked  straight  up  to  the  young  King,  and  with  a 
deep  bow  whispered  something  to  him. 

The  young  King  rose.  The  company  looked 
at  him  with  some  surprise,  as  it  was  too  late  to 
propose  toasts. 

"  Gentlemen  !  "  began  Alexander  Obrenovich, 
who  at  that  very  moment  ceased  to  be  a  boy, 
and  became  a  King,  his  voice  not  betraying  the 
slightest  nervousness  or  emotion. 

"  Gentlemen !  It  is  announced  to  all  the 
garrisons  in  Servia,  to  all  the  authorities,  and  to  the 
people,  and  I  announce  it  here  to  you,  that  I  declare 
myself  of  full  age,  and  that  I  now  take  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country  into  my  own  hands.  I  thank 
you,  my  Regents,  for  your  services,  of  which  I  now 
relieve  you.  I  thank  you  also,  gentlemen  of  the 
Cabinet,  for  your  services,  of  which  you  are  relieved 
too.  You  will  not  be  allowed  to  leave  this  Palace 
to-night ;  you  can  remain  here  as  my  guests,  but 
if  not,  then  as  my  prisoners  !  " 

For  a  few  moments  there  was  a  dead  silence. 
The  Regents  and  the  Ministers  were  dumbfounded. 
The  first  Regent,  trembling,  and  with  a  white  face, 
in  a  low  and  sorrowful  voice  said,  "  If  it  is  not 
your  Majesty's  wish  to  allow  us  to  exercise  our 


SASH  A  NAMED  "ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT"    45 

mission  for  the  legal  and  constitutional  term,  which 
means  hardly  more  than  a  year  longer,  you  might 
have  appealed  to  our  well-known  loyalty  to  the 
dynasty." 

General  Belimarkovich  reproached  the  King 
in  words  not  so  well  chosen,  declared  his  action 
illegal,  and  protested  violently  against  it ;  rushed 
from  the  Banqueting  Hall  as  if  to  leave  the  Palace. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Tyirich  stopped  him  with  his 
sword  drawn,  and,  opening  the  doors,  showed  him 
in  the  adjoining  room  a  company  of  soldiers  with 
glittering  bayonets  on  their  rifles. 

"I  leave  you  in  charge  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Tyirich,  whose  orders  you  will  have  implicitly  to 
obey,  while  I  go  to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity  from 
the  Army,"  said  the  King,  and  left  the  Hall. 

Next  morning  (the  ist  of  April  according  to 
the  Old  Calendar,  i3th  of  the  New)  the  citizens 
were  early  awakened  by  military  music  playing 
through  the  streets,  and  the  cannons  firing  from 
the  fortress.  They  saw  the  walls  of  their  town 
placarded  with  the  Royal  Proclamation,  that  King 
Alexander,  watching  with  alarm  the  illegal  actions 
of  the  Liberal  Government,  and  fearing  that  if  the 
present  struggle  was  allowed  to  continue  the 
country  would  drift  into  civil  war,  thought  it  his 
duty  to  proclaim  himself  of  age,  and  had  taken 
the  reins  of  the  Government  into  his  own  hands. 
Half  an  hour  later  every  house  unfurled  the 
national  flags,  and  thousands  of  citizens  flocked 
in  front  of  the  Palace  to  cheer  the  young  King 


46  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

most  enthusiastically.  The  official  Gazette 
published  his  first  decree,  forming  a  Radical 
Cabinet,  under  the  Premiership  of  his  principal 
tutor  and  physician,  Dr.  Lazar  Dokich. 

The  majority  of  the  Servian  people  were 
delighted  by  the  action  of  the  young  King.  The 
Regency  was  not  popular,  and  the  high-handed 
policy  of  the  Liberal  Cabinet  during  the  elections 
and  since  the  meeting  of  the  Skupshtina  was 
condemned  by  every  impartial  man  in  the  country. 
The  public  opinion  of  Europe  was  struck  by  the 
originality  of  the  idea  and  its  successful  execution. 

The  Radicals,  unexpectedly  receiving  the 
government  of  the  country  into  their  hands, 
were  naturally  most  enthusiastic  about  the  young 
King.  He  was  to  them,  there  and  then,  nothing 
less  than  "  Alexander  the  Great,"  according  to 
their  newspapers.  Inasmuch  as  he  stopped  the 
somewhat  fierce  persecution  of  the  Radicals  by 
the  Liberal  Government,  Alexander  was  to  them 
"  the  God-sent  Saviour  of  the  country."  By  their 
exaggerated  adulation  and  flatteries,  the  Radicals 
were  the  first  men  in  Servia  who  encouraged 
the  natural  inclination  of  the  King  to  form  an 
exaggerated  idea  of  his  own  importance,  as  well 
as  to  lean  towards  autocracy.  On  the  very  day 
of  his  taking  the  Government  in  his  hands,  the 
Radicals,  probably  unintentionally,  and  in  the  in- 
toxication of  their  unexpected  triumph  secured  by 
him  for  them,  began  to  work  at  his  demoralisation 
and  ruin. 


SASHA  NAMED  "ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT"    47 

I  was  sincerely  devoted  to  the  dynasty,  and 
was  deeply  saddened  and  alarmed  by  this  first 
public  and  political  act  of  my  young  King.  It 
was  no  doubt  cleverly  and  energetically  executed ; 
it  showed  a  remarkable  astuteness  and  impatience 
to  reign,  and,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  an  immoderate 
ambition.  I  thought  it  not  only  illegal,  but 
immoral.  If  King  Alexander,  in  his  seventeenth 
year,  is  capable  of  transforming  his  hospitable 
table  into  a  trap,  and  make  his  guests  his 
prisoners;  if  as  a  young  man  he  is  not  guided 
by  highest  motives  and  principles,  what  can  we 
expect  of  him  in  later  years,  when  the  struggle 
of  life  had  destroyed  the  idealism  of  youth  ?  I 
did  not  write  to  King  Alexander,  but  I  did  write 
to  his  father,  King  Milan,  and  to  some  intimate 
friends,  telling  them  that  such  an  act  does  not 
foreshadow  any  good  either  for  Servia  or  for  the 
young  King.  One  of  those  letters  was  published 
in  1894  by  an  enemy  of  mine,  who  wished  to 
compromise  me  in  the  eyes  of  King  Alexander. 
The  King  only  expressed  to  me  his  astonishment 
that  I  should  take  such  a  view  of  his  action, 
which  he  said  "  was  even  by  my  enemies  the 
Radicals  highly  approved."  "  Exactly,"  I  re- 
marked;  "just  because  your  enemies  approved  of 
it,  I  cannot  as  your  friend." 

Many  people  suspected  King  Milan  to  be 
the  originator  of  this  first  coup  d'ttat  of  King 
Alexander.  I  am  sure  that  King  Milan  was 
totally  ignorant  of  the  plan.  It  is  evident  that 


48  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

by  the  success  of  the  intrigue,  the  Regents,  King 
Milan's  devoted  friends,  and  the  Liberals,  the 
dynastic  party  par  excellence,  were  defeated,  and 
his  own  son  and  the  government  of  the  country 
were  placed  in  the  hands  of  well-known  old 
enemies  of  King  Milan.  The  plan  was  hatched 
in  the  head  of  King  Alexander's  tutor,  Dr. 
Dokich,  accepted  eagerly  by  his  pupil,  and 
executed  promptly  by  him  and  his  first  Aide-de- 
Camp,  Tyirich,  supported  ably  by  another  Aide-de- 
camp— Major  Alexander  Mashin. 


CHAPTER   VI 

KING  ALEXANDER'S  SECOND  COUP  L>£TAT 

I  AM  not  writing  a  detailed  history  of  political 
events  in  the  Kingdom  of  Servia.  It  is  my  desire 
to  give  my  readers  insight  into  those  great  lines 
of  political  movement  in  that  unhappy  country, 
by  which  historical  destiny  prepared  the  tragical 
end  of  King  Alexander  and  the  Obrenovich 
Dynasty. 

Servia  had  a  young  King,  who  had  just  given 
a  startling  proof  of  great  initiative  and  energy, 
who  seemed  to  possess  considerable  personal 
gifts  of  intelligence,  and  remarkable  self-control. 
He  was  educated  by  a  Radical  politician,  and  was 
believed  and  expected  to  act  as  a  Radical.  When 
he  appeared  on  the  scene  in  the  first  act  of  his 
tragedy,  he  certainly  behaved  as  a  Radical,  and 
showed  no  consideration  for  the  artificial  system 
created  with  great  efforts  by  the  Liberal  Party. 
He  placed  the  government  of  the  country  in  the 
hands  of  his  Radical  tutor  and  his  political  friends. 
I  may  say  that  he  did  that  not  only  because  he 
had  full  confidence  in  Dr.  Dokich,  but  more 
especially  because  he  was  aware  of  the  fact  that 
4 


50  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

the  Radical  Party  had  the  greatest  majority  in  the 
country. 

The  leaders  of  the  Radicals — Nichola  Pashich, 
Taushanovich,  Stoyan  Protich,  Zivkovich — were 
excellent  political  organisers.  They  succeeded 
first  in  drawing  towards  them  many  village  priests 
and  village  teachers ;  made  them  their  agents,  and 
instructed  them  to  try  to  persuade  as  many  peasants 
as  they  could  to  inscribe  their  names  in  the  Radical 
Register.  The  village  priests  and  teachers  suc- 
ceeded rapidly  in  that  task,  especially  as  they  did 
not  hesitate  to  promise  the  peasants  the  reduction 
of  the  State  taxes,  abolition  of  the  standing  army, 
abolition  of  the  bureaucratic  system,  the  independ- 
ence and  the  self-government  of  the  communes, 
and  many  other  things  far  in  advance  and  above 
the  democratic,  but  not  demagogic,  programme  of 
the  Radical  Party.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  between  60  and  70  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
number  of  the  peasant  voters  were  inscribed  in  the 
Radical  Register. 

Most  of  the  leaders  of  the  Radicals  were  clever 
politicians,  but  not  real  statesmen.  Those  among 
them  who  were  something  like  statesmen  could 
not  and  did  not  exercise  a  decisive  influence  in 
the  central  Council  of  the  Party,  nor  on  the  conduct 
of  State  affairs.  Among  the  leaders  of  the  Radicals 
were  several  well-known  agents  of  the  Pretender  to 
the  throne,  Prince  Peter  Karageorgevich,  as  for 
instance  Ranko  Tayssich,  Costa  Taushanovich, 
Atza  Stanoyevich,  and  Lyuba  Zivkovich. 


KING  ALEXANDER'S  SECOND  COUP  &&TAT    51 

Called  to  the  Government,  under  the  young 
King,  with  confidence  in  them,  the  Radicals  might 
have  opened  an  era  of  true  liberty  and  progress 
for  Servia,  and  of  contentment  and  peace.  But 
they  abused  their  numerical  power  in  the  country 
and  their  Government  majority,  to  oppress  and 
persecute  the  two  remaining  political  parties — the 
Liberals  and  the  Progressives.  They  inaugurated 
their  government  by  impeaching  the  Members  of 
the  last  Liberal  Cabinet,  and  by  sweeping  from 
public  office  all  Liberals  and  Progressives,  replacing 
them  by  their  own  partisans,  although  these  lacked 
the  necessary  qualifications  for  employment  in  the 
public  service.  This  naturally  provoked  bitter- 
ness and  resentment  on  the  part  of  the  two  now 
more  or  less  persecuted  political  parties.  In  this 
very  first  year  of  King  Alexander's  reign,  political 
passion  was  in  full  blaze  all  over  the  country. 

The  Liberals  and  the  Progressives  —  always 
considered  as  men  sincerely  devoted  to  the  dynasty 
of  Obrenovich — appealed  to  the  King  for  protec- 
tion against  the  persecution  which  they  suffered  at 
the  hands  of  the  Radicals,  who,  to  say  the  least, 
were  never  devoted  friends  of  Obrenovich,  and 
of  whom  several  leaders  were  more  than  suspected 
of  anti-dynastic  proclivities.  The  young  King 
counselled  his  Radical  Government  to  exercise  more 
moderation  and  greater  justice.  He  himself  gave 
a  fine  example  of  consideration  for  the  suscepti- 
bilities of  others.  In  his  first  progress  through 
the  country  he  visited  the  grave  of  Kara-George 


52  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

in  the  village  of  Topola,  and  laid  on  it  a  wreath 
with  an  inscription  in  which  he  gave  expression 
to  his  great  respect  for  the  leader  of  the  first 
Servian  insurrection  against  the  Turks.  But  this 
generous  deed  flattered  only  the  partisans  of  Kara- 
georgevich  and  encouraged  their  hopes,  while  it 
correspondingly  weakened  the  partisans  of  the 
reigning  dynasty. 

Having  made  new  elections,  and  obtained  a 
Skupshtina  without  any  opposition,  and  having 
appointed  its  own  partisans  to  all  the  places  of  the 
Civil  Service,  dismissing  even  the  servants  and 
attendants  of  public  offices  suspected  to  belong  to 
the  Liberal  or  Progressive  Party,  and  replacing  them 
with  men  inscribed  in  the  Radical  Register,  the 
Government  began  to  show  little  respect  even  to 
their  "Alexander  the  Great  "  of  yesterday.  They 
resented  his  remonstrances  with  them,  they  took 
every  day  less  and  less  account  of  his  wishes  and 
of  his  opinions,  and  even  told  him  that  he  could 
attend  the  Cabinet  Council  only  when  they 
requested  him  to  do  so.  King  Alexander  was 
deeply  and  personally  offended  by  what  he  con- 
sidered the  ungrateful  conduct  of  the  Radicals. 
The  energetic  young  man  who  ventured  a  dangerous 
coup  d'Stat  to  wrest  the  power  from  friends  of  the 
dynasty,  the  Liberals,  to  give  it  to  his  dynasty's 
opponents,  the  Radicals,  was  not  likely  to  accept 
meekly  the  insignificant  role  assigned  to  him  by  the 
men  to  whom  he  had  handed  the  government  of 
the  country. 


KING  ALEXANDER'S  SECOND  COUP  &&TAT    53 

Taking  as  his  justification  the  political  chaos, 
the  bitter  dissensions,  and  the  political,  passionate 
struggle    provoked    by    the    narrow,    selfish,    and 
grasping  policy  of  the  Radical  Government  under 
the  Radical  Constitution,  King  Alexander  dismissed 
the  Radical  Cabinet  and  replaced  it  by  what  he  called 
a  Neutral  Cabinet,  composed  of  moderate  men  of 
the  Progressive  and  the  Liberal  Party.     This  was 
not  constitutional,   of  course.     Once  engaged   on 
the  path  of  unconstitutional  proceedings,  he  very 
soon  found  himself  in  such  a  dilemma  that  he  felt 
obliged  either  to  abolish  the  Radical  Constitution,  or 
capitulate  to  the  Radicals,  who  certainly  never  were 
capable  of  generosity,  but  rather  of  vindictiveness, 
and  who,  now  indifferent  in  their  devotion  to  the 
reigning  dynasty,  did  not  hide  their  ill-will  towards 
King  Alexander.     As  long  as  the  "  King  Milan's  " 
Constitution    remained,    the    Radicals    with    their 
admirable  organisation,  would  always    be  able  to 
secure  a  majority  in  the  Skupshtina,  and  impose 
their  leaders  as   the    King's    Ministers.     He   had 
reason  to  fear   being  again   in  the  hands  of  the 
Radicals.     He  thought  it  would  be  less  risky  for 
himself  personally  to  suspend  the  Constitution  of 
1888  and   replace   it    by   the  old  Constitution    of 
1869,  which,  although  called  Liberal,  was  in  truth 
very  Conservative.     It  was  not  difficult  for  him  to 
find  the  Ministers  who  could  dare  to  suspend  the 
Radical  Constitution.     The  political  men  of  Servia, 
all  equally  ambitious  to  get  the  power  in  their  own 
hands,  competed  for  the  Royal  favours,  and  hated 


54  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

each  other  so  passionately  that  they  could  not 
combine  among  themselves  to  force  the  King  to 
reign  constitutionally.  When  in  the  opposition, 
they  generally  tried  to  intimidate  the  young  King 
by  anti-dynastic  menaces,  or  to  win  his  goodwill 
by  promising  to  serve  him  faithfully  when  in 
power.  Such  conduct  had  two  consequences 
in  the  development  of  the  young  man's  character : 
he  became  convinced  that  there  was  no  true 
loyalty  among  the  Servians,  and  began  to  believe 
that  with  sugar  in  one  hand  and  a  whip  in  the 
other  he  could  best  succeed  in  subduing  to  his 
own  will  the  wild  horse  of  the  Servian  politics.  In 
fact,  Servian  politicians  were  corrupting  their  own 
young  King,  and  King  Alexander  was  corrupting 
the  Servian  political  parties.  Politicians  sinned  far 
more  against  their  young  King  than  the  King  sinned 
against  them.  If  they  had  been  incorruptible,  or  if 
he  at  his  first  trials  had  found  them  incorruptible, 
he  could  not  have  succeeded.  And  if  they  wished 
to  make  of  him  a  good  constitutional  King  they  might 
have  succeeded,  as  his  youth  and  intelligence,  with  a 
keen  political  sense,  gave  them  a  very  good  chance. 
As  I  have  mentioned,  when  King  Alexander 
made  his  first  coup  d'dtat  the  Radicals  applauded 
him  enthusiastically.  When  he  made  his  second 
coup  d'dtat,  viz.  the  suspension  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1888,  and  its  replacement  by  the  old 
Constitution  of  1869,  he  received  congratulations 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  numerous  deputa- 
tions from  the  towns  and  villages  arrived  in  Belgrade 


KING  ALEXANDER'S  SECOND  COUP  D'ETAT    55 

to  thank  him  "  that  he  had  saved  the  country  from 
further  anarchy."  Naturally,  the  Liberals  were 
now  the  foremost  in  extolling  the  King's  wise 
initiative,  and  praising  his  political  genius,  as  the 
Radicals  did  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  coup  d^tat. 

By  such  conduct  of  the  politicians  of  Servia,  was 
not  the  young  Alexander  encouraged  to  venture 
eventually  on  a  third,  or  even  on  a  fourth,  coup  dttat  ? 
Had  they  not  given  him  enough  cause  to  think 
contemptuously  of  them  all,  and  to  consider  that 
the  only  politically  gifted  and  strong  man  in  Servia 
was  he  himself,  King  Alexander  Obrenovich  ? 

As  a  child  he  lived  in  extremely  sad  and 
demoralising  circumstances,  not  by  his  own  fault  but 
by  the  fault  of  his  parents. 

As  a  boy  he  was,  so  to  speak,  abandoned  by  his 
mother  and  father,  surrounded  by  strangers,  probably 
quite  honest,  but  somewhat  rough,  and  certainly  not 
highly  cultured  men,  and  was  given  an  education 
which  had  no  moral  foundations. 

And  now,  as  the  reigning  King,  between  his 
seventeenth  and  twentieth  year,  from  the  practical 
political  life  of  Servia  he  received  daily  the  injunction 
that  the  principles  of  a  Machiavellian  policy  were 
the  only  safe  rules  of  conduct  among  the  politicians 
whose  dynastic  loyalty,  personal  devotion,  and  even 
general  patriotism,  was  unreliable. 

Poor  King  Alexander!  Long  before  his 
murderers  plotted  to  destroy  him,  all  the  circum- 
stances of  his  childhood  and  of  his  youth  conspired 
against  him ! 


CHAPTER  VII 

RUSSIA   AND    SERVIA 

IN  this  painful  history  of  the  saddest  tragedy  in 
contemporary  times,  the  chapter  which  I  now  write 
is  the  most  painful  to  me. 

I  frankly  accuse  Russia  of  having  planned 
deliberately,  and  accomplished  mercilessly,  the  ruin 
of  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty.  And  I  will  show 
that  to  accomplish  that  object  the  Russian  official 
and  unofficial  diplomacy  did  not  hesitate  to  apply 
methods  of  such  intensely  Asiatic  Machiavellism, 
that  the  mind  and  morality  of  Western  Europe  can 
hardly  realise  that  such  actions  would  have  been 
possible  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  and  the 
beginning  of  the  twentieth  century. 

I  regret  to  have  to  proffer  such  an  accusation 
against  the  Slavonic,  Holy  Orthodox  Russia.  I 
regret  it  the  more  as  I  believe  it  is  now  inevitable 
that  the  Servian  nation — as  well  as  the  Bulgarian 
nation — will  sooner  or  later  be  merged  into,  and 
absorbed  by,  the  great  Empire  of  the  Tzar.  The 
majority  of  the  Servian  people,  represented  as  they 
are  by  the  Radical  Party  of  all  shades,  is  already 
now  almost  more  Russian  than  Servian. 


50 


•     I 


KING  MILAN  OF  SERVIA 


RUSSIA  AND  SERVIA  57 

There  are  altogether  between  five  and  six 
millions  of  Servians  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  two 
and  a  half  millions  forming  the  population  of  the 
independent  Kingdom  of  Servia.  The  Servians 
belong  to  the  great  family  of  Slavonic  nations. 
Ethnographically  they  are  first  cousins  to  the 
Russians,  Bulgarians,  Poles,  Czeks,  Slovaks,  and 
Slovenians,  and  they  are  brothers  to  the  Croats. 
Their  language  is  very  similar  to  the  Russian, 
only  it  is  softer,  clearer,  and  more  musical.  The 
letters  of  their  alphabet  are  mostly  identical  with 
the  Russian.  With  the  exception  of  about 
250,000  Catholic  Servians  and  about  350,000 
Mohammedans  of  Bosnia,  all  other  Servians 
belong  to  the  Orthodox  Eastern  Church  (the  so- 
called  Greek  Church).  In  their  churches  they  use 
the  Old  Slavonic  language,  which  is  identical  with 
the  language  used  in  the  Russian  churches.  There 
are,  therefore,  undoubtedly  very  important  and 
mighty  links  which  bind  the  Servian  people  to  the 
Russians.  To  the  ethnographic,  linguistic,  and 
religious  bonds  we  must  add  the  political  bonds 
by  which  Russia,  not  unsuccessfully,  tried  to  bind 
the  Servian  nation  to  herself. 

The  Servians  rose  in  1804,  by  their  own  free 
impulse  and  by  their  own  initiative,  against  the 
Turks.  After  a  few  prominent  men  had  refused 
to  be  their  leader  they  elected  The  Black  George 
Petrovich  (commonly  known  as  Kara-George)  for 
their  Supreme  Leader  (Verhovni  Vozd).  Under 
his  leadership  they  fought  successfully,  and  the 


58  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

largest  part  of  the  present  kingdom  was  practically 
free  already  in  1805.  ^n  1807  tne  Porte,  on  the  eve 
of  a  war  with  Russia,  offered  to  grant  the  Servians 
independence  and  recognise  Kara-George  as  their 
Prince,  Vassal  to  the  Sultan.  But  Russian  agents 
came  to  Servia  and  determined  Kara-George  to 
reject  the  Porte's  offer  and  join  the  Servian  forces 
with  the  Russian  in  the  military  operations  against 
the  Turks.  The  Servians  fought  as  the  Russian 
allies  for  nearly  five  years  ;  but  when  the  Russians, 
in  1812,  were  forced  on  the  eve  of  the  French 
invasion  to  conclude  hurriedly  peace  with  Turkey 
in  Bucharest,  they  sacrificed  their  Servian  allies, 
stipulating  only  an  amnesty  to  be  granted  by  the 
Sultan. 

The  Turkish  forces  invaded  Servia  in  1813, 
and  Kara- George,  after  nine  years  hard  fighting 
to  secure  his  country's  independence,  was  obliged 
to  abandon  the  struggle,  and  left  Servia,  taking 
refuge  at  Kishenyeff,  on  Russian  soil. 

Milosh  Obrenovich,  one  of  the  subordinate 
Voyvodes  (Generals)  of  Kara-George,  would  not 
leave  the  country.  Recognised  by  the  Turks  as 
the  Chief  of  the  Servian  Rayah,  he  started  a  new 
and  general  insurrection  of  the  Servians  against 
them,  on  the  Palm  Sunday  of  1815,  at  the  small 
church  of  Takovo,  in  the  centre  of  Servia.  With- 
out any  aid  from  Russia  he,  after  several  victories, 
entered  into  negotiations  with  the  Turks,  and 
secured  for  Servia  its  autonomy,  and  for  himself 
acknowledgment  as  the  Prince  of  Servia.  After 


RUSSIA  AND  SERVIA  59 

this  important  success  was  achieved  by  the  Servians 
themselves,  the  Russians  began  again  to  take  in- 
terest in  Servian  affairs.  The  Russian  Ambassador 
in  Constantinople,  Baron  Stroganoff,  was  un- 
doubtedly of  very  great  help  to  Prince  Milosh  in 
his  endeavours  to  fortify,  and  if  possible  extend 
the  privileges  already  obtained  from  the  Sultan,  and 
Russia  rendered  far  more  important  service  to 
Servia  when,  dictating  the  peace  to  Turkey  at 
Adrianople,  A.D.  1829,  she  introduced  into  the 
Treaty  articles  placing  the  autonomy  of  Servia 
under  the  Protectorate  of  the  Tzar.  Servian  rights 
and  privileges  were  thus  placed  on  the  basis  of  an 
international  treaty. 

At  the  same  time,  the  further  progress  of  Servia, 
in  a  political  sense,  was  rather  handicapped  by  the 
treaty  of  Adrianople.  The  Prince  of  Servia  was 
watched,  not  only  by  his  Suzerain,  the  Sultan,  but 
still  more  jealously  by  his  Protector,  the  Tzar  of 
Russia.  The  Russian  policy  concerning  Servia, 
as  well  as  all  other  Balkan  countries,  was  to  free 
them  from  the  Turkish  yoke,  prevent  the  develop- 
ment of  a  spirit  of  independence  and  self-determina- 
tion, and  exclude  every  foreign  influence,  more 
especially  that  of  the  neighbouring  Austria,  and 
practically  transform  the  Prince  of  Servia  into  a 
Russian  Governor-General  of  that  country.  The 
moment  the  Prince  of  Servia  showed  a  disposition 
to  serve  the  special  interests  of  his  own  country, 
rather  than  those  of  Russia,  he  was  to  be  deprived 
of  power,  or  got  rid  of  in  some  other  way. 


60  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Prince  Milosh,  the  founder  of  the  dynasty 
Obrenovich,  offended  Russia  by  his  great  and 
independent  initiative  in  serving  his  country.  He 
gave  the  Servian  people  the  first  Constitution,  with- 
out asking  the  approval  of  Russia,  and  the  Tzar's 
Government  at  once  moved  the  Porte  to  protest 
against  the  Servians  having  a  Constitution.  The 
Sultan  and  Tzar  ordered  Milosh  to  withdraw  that 
Constitution  and  accept  one  made  by  the  Russians 
and  the  Turks.  Prince  Milosh  obtained  from  the 
Porte,  without  any  assistance  from  and  even  without 
consulting  Russia,  the  recognition  of  the  hereditary 
right  of  his  family  to  the  throne  of  Servia.  This 
attempt  to  create  a  Servian  dynasty  aroused  the 
rage  of  the  Russians  against  Milosh,  and  principally 
through  their  action  Milosh  was  forced  to  abdicate 
in  1839  and  go  into  exile. 

When  the  Servians  elected  Alexander,  the 
younger  son  of  Kara-George,  to  be  Prince,  in  1842, 
Russia  would  not  acknowledge  the  election,  because 
it  was  made  without  the  consultation  and  approval 
of  the  Tzar.  The  election  was  annulled,  and  the 
Servians  had  to  make  a  new  election,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Tzar's  special  representative, 
choosing,  however,  again  the  same  Alexander  Kara- 
georgevich. 

When  Prince  Alexander  accepted  the  resolution 
of  his  Senate  that  Servia  should  remain  neutral  and 
at  peace  during  the  Crimean  War,  and  when  he 
showed  decidedly  an  inclination  to  listen  to  advices 
from  Vienna,  the  Russians  organised  conspiracies 


RUSSIA  AND  SERVIA  61 

for  the  dethronement,  afterwards  against  the  life, 
of  Prince  Alexander.  I  have  had  in  my  hands 
the  Memoirs  of  one  of  the  Senators,  one  of  the 
principal  conspirators  against  Alexander's  life,  who 
tells  in  detail  how  they  have  been  led  by  the 
Russian  Consul  -  General,  Colonel  Miloshevich, 
to  conspire  against  Alexander.  And  when,  in  1858, 
the  National  Assembly  pronounced  the  dethrone- 
ment of  Prince  Alexander  Karageorgevich,  and 
the  recall  of  old  Milosh  Obrenovich  to  the 
throne,  it  was  by  the  intrigues  and  assistance  of 
Russia,  which  cleverly  utilised  the  dissatisfaction 
among  the  people  with  Prince  Alexander's  weak 
rule. 

When  the  noblest  man  on  the  throne  of  Servia 
during  the  nineteenth  century,  Prince  Michael 
Obrenovich  in.,  achieved  great  political  success 
in  1867  in  the  evacuation  of  the  Servian  fortresses 
by  the  Turkish  garrisons,  and  when  he  was  prepar- 
ing the  insurrection  of  Bosnia  and  Bulgaria,  and 
the  proclamation  of  their  union  with  Servia  under 
himself,  he  was  suddenly,  treacherously,  and  cruelly 
murdered  by  the  partisans  of  the  Karageorgevich 
Dynasty,  who  hoped  to  seize  the  government  and 
proclaim  Alexander  Karageorgevich  or  his  son, 
Peter,  Prince  of  Servia.  Everyone  felt  that  the 
partisans  of  Karageorgevich  had  been  encouraged 
to  do  their  bloody  deed  by  one  or  other  great 
Power.  There  are  to  this  day  many  people  who 
suspect  Russia.  I  have  seen  no  proofs  either  for 
one  or  for  the  other  theory.  It  is,  however,  very 


62  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

comprehensible  that  neither  Austria  nor  Russia 
would  have  liked  to  see  Bosnia,  Servia,  and 
Bulgaria  united  under  one  and  the  same  crown, 
and  especially  under  such  a  patriotic,  independ- 
ent, and  self-respecting  man  as  Prince  Michael 
Obrenovich  in. 

Prince  Milan  Obrenovich  iv.  was  politically 
educated  by  the  Regent  Yovan  Ristich,  who  on 
the  whole  was  himself  a  Slavophil.  Prince  Milan, 
from  the  very  beginning  of  his  reign  to  the  time  of 
San  Stefano  Treaty  (1871-1878),  was  so  sincerely 
devoted  to  Russia  that  he  at  the  instigation  and 
insistence  of  General  Ignyatieff,  the  Russian 
Ambassador  in  Constantinople,  declared  war  against 
Turkey,  although  he  knew  well  that  the  Servian 
army,  insufficiently  organised  and  badly  equipped, 
must  lose  the  campaign.  But  when  he  saw  that  at 
San  Stefano  Russia  created  a  great  Bulgaria,  giving 
her  even  the  provinces  inhabited  by  the  Servians, 
whereas  for  Servia  she  stipulated  only  a  rectification 
of  the  frontier  ;  when  he  saw  that  at  the  Congress 
of  Berlin  Russia  allowed  Austria  to  get  two  great 
Servian  provinces,  Bosnia  and  Hertzegovina,  and 
fought  strenuously  against  Servia  getting  Pirot 
and  Wranya;  when  the  Servian  representative, 
Yovan  Ristich,  was  by  Prince  Gortchakoff  himself 
advised  to  go  to  Count  Andrassy,  and  try  to 
come  to  agreement  with  Austria- Hungary — then 
Prince  Milan,  indignant  at  such  conduct  of  Russia 
towards  Servia  and  towards  himself,  turned  his 
back  on  her,  refused  to  follow  any  longer  her 


RUSSIA  AND  SERVIA  63 

guidance,  and,  in  1882,  concluded  a  secret  conven- 
tion with  Austria- Hungary. 

That  a  Servian  ruler  should  dare  turn  his  back 
on  Russia,  refuse  to  follow  her  guidance,  and  even 
make  a  secret  arrangement  with  the  supposed 
enemy  of  the  Slavs  concerning  old  Servia  and 
Macedonia,  such  a  diabolical  phenomenon  could 
not  be  for  a  moment  tolerated  by  Panslavonic 
Russia.  The  honest  but  narrow-minded  Tzar 
Alexander  in.  was  indignant,  and  gave  without 
hesitation  his  approval  to  the  Panslavonic  deter- 
mination to  ruin  and  destroy  Milan  Obrenovich  iv. 
From  that  time  to  his  very  death,  1882-1902, 
King  Milan  was  in  the  eyes  of  the  Panslavonic 
Russia  an  outlaw,  a  wild  beast  whom  to  destroy 
was  a  meritorious  Christian  deed ! 

There  was  an  eccentric  woman  in  Belgrade, 
Helene  Markovich,  the  widow  of  Colonel  Yephrem 
Markovich,  a  well-known  partisan  of  the  dynasty 
Karageorgevich  and  enemy  of  the  Obrenovich, 
who  was  condemned  and  executed  for  attempting 
to  raise  a  revolt  in  the  army  at  the  moment  when 
it  started  on  the  second  campaign  against  the 
Turks.  This  woman  swore  to  revenge  the  death 
of  her  husband.  She  went  to  Russia,  and  immedi- 
ately on  her  return  tried  to  kill  King  Milan  in  the 
very  Cathedral  of  Belgrade,  by  firing  on  him  with 
a  Russian  revolver.  He  escaped  unhurt.  It  is 
difficult  to  prove  that  the  Russians  had  really 
instigated  this  woman  to  kill  King  Milan ;  but 
King  Milan  and  his  Government  of  that  time  had 


64  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

reason   to  believe   that  she   was   the   tool  of  the 
Russian  Panslavonists. 

When  the  attempt  against  the  life  of  King 
Milan  failed,  the  Radicals,  the  faithful  friends  of 
Russia,  tried  in  1883  to  start  a  revolution  against 
the  King.  Shortly  before,  an  unusually  large 
number  of  the  Russian  sellers  of  Holy  Pictures 
(Eikons)  were  noticed  moving  from  town  to  town, 
and  from  village  to  village  in  the  districts  in 
which  the  revolution  was  attempted.  But  this 
also  failed. 

Then  it  seems  that  the  Chief  of  the  Russian 
campaign  against  Milan  remembered,  or  was  told, 
that  the  only  fatal  weapon  by  which  an  Obrenovich 
could  be  destroyed  was — a  woman !  Very  soon 
after  we  had  a  strange  spectacle.  Queen  Nathalie, 
who  boasted  openly  that  one  part  of  her  heart  was 
always  Russian,  began  to  force  King  Milan  to  risk 
a  public  scandal  in  his  hatred  of  her,  and  she  did 
everything  possible,  openly  or  secretly,  to  com- 
promise her  own  husband,  the  father  of  her  only 
son,  in  the  eyes  of  his  own  people,  and  in  the  eyes 
of  the  civilised  world.  Queen  Nathalie  probably 
was  not  conscious  that  she  acted  as  the  tool  and 
most  virulent  agent  of  Russia's  hatred  of  Milan  ; 
but  practically  she  did  so.  At  the  same  time  the 
Russians  organised  a  campaign  in  the  Press  of  all 
European  countries  against  the  political  and  private 
conduct  of  Milan. 

But  this  was  not  enough.  While  on  one  side 
encouraging  the  bitter  and  merciless  struggle  of 


RUSSIA  AND  SERVIA  65 

Queen  Nathalie  against  King  Milan,  the  Russians 
had  at  the  same  time  gained  a  devoted  agent  in 
the  mistress  of  King  Milan,  the  Levantine  lady, 
Mme.  Arthemise,  the  wife  of  his  private  secretary, 
Mr.  Milan  F.  Christich.  Many  people  believe  that 
King  Milan  was  hypnotised  by  her.  The  fact  is 
that,  while  he  was  under  the  spell  of  her  influence 
he  hated  his  wife,  Queen  Nathalie,  and  that 
inasmuch  as,  later  on,  that  influence  subsided,  his 
animosity  against  Queen  Nathalie  diminished  too. 

It  was  Mme.  Arthemise  who  inspired  Milan  to 
divorce  his  wife.  And  it  was  she  who  suggested 
to  him  the  abdication  of  the  crown  and  throne.  It 
was  King  Milan  who  told  me  this,  praising  at  the 
same  time  "  the  admirable  wisdom  "  of  the  woman, 
who  made  the  suggestion  of  the  abdication,  and 
who  brought  in  support  of  it  the  most  convincing 
arguments.  Of  course,  it  is  quite  possible  that 
she  made  that  suggestion  from  her  own  initiative, 
hoping  that  King  Milan,  once  an  ex-King,  would 
more  readily  marry  her,  and  thereby  legalise  the 
position  of  the  boy  whom  she  had  borne  to  him.  But 
it  was  not  impossible  that  her  Russian  patrons,  who 
worked  so  persistently  to  dethrone  Milan,  advised 
her  to  suggest  to  him  the  abdication,  easily  proving 
to  her  how  much  it  might  be  in  her  own  interest. 

When,  in  1897,  ex-King  Milan  returned  to 
Servia,  settled  in  the  Palace  of  Belgrade  to  live  in 
the  company  of  his  son,  and  assumed  the  post 
of  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Servian  Army,  the 
official  as  well  as  the  unofficial  Russia  were 
5 


66  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

exasperated  against  him.  The  Russian  Press  and 
the  European  newspapers,  inspired  by  the  official 
press-bureau  of  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  St. 
Petersburg,  were  simply  in  a  fury,  attributing  to 
him  all  sorts  of  sinister  and  monstrous  intentions, 
amongst  which  the  conversion  of  King  Alexander 
from  a  Slavophil  into  an  Austrophil  was  the  most 
trivial.  They  simply  called  upon  the  Servians  to 
rise  as  one  man  in  revolt,  to  drive  away  the  father 
of  their  young  King.  To  encourage  such  a  revolt, 
the  Russian  Minister,  Jeadovsky,  openly  fraternised 
with  the  Radical  enemies  of  King  Milan,  and 
ostentatiously  would  not  greet  him  when  they  met 
in  the  streets  of  Belgrade,  or  in  the  circle  of  the 
European  diplomatists  there. 

When  it  became  clear  that  the  attacks  in  the 
Press,  Servian  and  foreign,  did  not  affect  in  the 
least  the  determination  of  King  Milan  to  remain  at 
the  side  of  his  son,  when  the  services  which  he  was 
rendering  to  the  Servian  Army  as  its  Commander- 
in-Chief  only  increased  the  fascination  which  his 
brilliant  intelligence,  kindliness,  and  generosity 
exercised  over  the  Servians,  then  someone  in 
Russia  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  only  safe 
method  to  remove  King  Milan  for  ever  from 
Servia  was  to  kill  him.  My  friend  Dr.  Vladan, 
the  Servian  Premier  from  October  1897  to  July 
1900,  published  a  despatch  of  Mr.  Jeadovsky  (dated 
in  the  year  1898)  to  his  Government,  in  which  the 
following  phrase  appears:  "To  save  Servia  and 
to  safeguard  our  own  [Russian]  interests,  it  is 


RUSSIA  AND  SERVIA  67 

absolutely  necessary  to  cut  through  this  coil  [personi- 
fied King  Milan]  as  soon  as  possible." 

On  the  27th  of  June  (O.S.)  1899,  a  Bosnian 
desperado  fired  from  a  revolver  on  King  Milan 
while  he  was  driving  in  an  open  carriage  from  the 
fortress  to  the  Palace.  Both  King  Milan  and  his 
Aide-de-Camp  were  slightly  wounded.  The  would- 
be  assassin  was  arrested.  In  his  depositions  he 
confessed  that  he  had  been  hired  by  a  Russian  in 
Bucharest  to  kill  King  Milan,  and  that  he  received 
from  him  20,000  francs  to  do  it.  When  the  photo 
of  the  house  in  which  lives  and  works  Colonel  N. 
N.,  the  Chief  of  the  Russian  Secret  Police  in 
Bucharest,  was  shown  to  the  man,  he  recognised 
it  as  the  one  in  which  he  was  received  by  the 
Russian  who  hired  him  to  execute  the  attempt  on 
Milan. 

The  attempt  did  not  succeed,  and,  from  the 
Russian  point  of  view,  it  was  more  than  a  failure, 
because  King  Milan  not  only  was  not  removed  from 
Servia,  but  the  attempt  aroused  genuine  sympathy 
with  him  in  the  whole  nation.  Even  the  most 
Russophil  Radicals,  always  the  enemies  of  King 
Milan,  condemned  it.  The  methods  of  unofficial 
Russia  were  not  only  the  hiring  of  a  murderer, 
who  very  nearly  succeeded  in  killing  King  Milan, 
but  also  the  Russian  publicistic  agencies  all  over 
Europe  stated  that  this  attempt  on  King  Milan 
was  deliberately  arranged  by  King  Milan  himself! 
Unfortunately,  King  Milan,  King  Alexander,  and 
his  Government,  made  at  this  juncture  a  fatal 


68  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

political  mistake  of  which  I  will  have  to  say 
something  later  on. 

"  Unofficial  Russia "  was  still  faced  by  the 
unsolved  problem  how  to  remove  King  Milan,  the 
friend  of  Austria  and  the  enemy  of  Russia,  from  his 
strong  position  at  the  Court  of  his  son,  at  the  head 
of  the  Servian  Army  as  its  Commander-in-Chief, 
and  it  may  be  said,  without  exaggeration,  from  the 
hearts  of  a  large  number  of  Servians.  Revela- 
tions in  the  Court  of  Justice  in  Belgrade  connecting 
Russia  with  the  attempt  on  Milan's  life  were  too 
fresh  and  too  glaring  for  another  attempt  to  be 
tried.  A  revolution  was  less  than  ever  possible. 
The  task  seemed  to  be  hopeless.  At  the  Tzar's 
Court,  and  in  the  Russian  "  official "  Government, 
some  honest  and  sensible  people  had  suggested 
that  probably  the  best  plan  would  be  to  try  and 
make  peace  with  Milan,  and  by  fair  means  detach 
him  from  Austria,  and  win  him  for  Russia. 
And  really,  a  certain  detente  was  observed  in  the 
" hatred"  of  King  Milan  at  the  Court  and  in  the 
Government  of  official  Russia  after  the  failure  of 
the  attempt  on  his  life. 

But  unofficial  Russia,  remarkably  astute,  terribly 
unscrupulous,  with  unlimited  means,  and  absolutely 
irresponsible,  would  not  accept  defeat.  One  or 
other  of  her  agents  remembered  that  in  the  history 
of  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty  woman  had  always 
been  fatal  to  them.  The  position  was  clear  enough 
—King  Alexander  was  madly  in  love  with  his 
mistress,  Draga  Mashin ;  Mme.  Mashin  was  un- 


RUSSIA  AND  SERVIA  69 

doubtedly  in  love  with  her  young  and  Royal  lover, 
and  she  was  known  to  be  an  ambitious  woman  ; 
King  Milan  hated  her.  Could  this  woman  not  be 
used  as  a  wedge  between  the  son  and  father,  to 
separate  them  for  ever  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII 

RUSSIA'S    R6LE   IN    THE   RUIN    OF   ALEXANDER 

I  DO  not  pretend  to  have  read  the  secret  instructions 
of  the  Russian  Government  to  their  agents  in  Servia, 
but  certain  facts  have  been  seen  and  noticed 
even  by  "  the  man  in  the  street "  of  Belgrade. 
Their  true  meaning  was  not  at  once  correctly 
understood,  but  subsequent  events  have  explained 
them. 

Russian  diplomacy  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Draga  Mashin  comparatively  early  enough,  when 
King  Alexander  spent  part  of  the  winter  of  1897 
at  Meran  (Tyrol),  and  was  accompanied  by  his 
mistress.  The  Russian  Minister  to  Bavaria,  Mr. 
Isvolsky,  came  specially  from  Munich  to  Meran  on 
some  secret  mission  to  King  Alexander,  and  spent 
there  several  days  in  company  of  the  young  King 
and  his  mistress.  I  daresay,  although  I  have  no 
undoubted  proof,  that  on  that  occasion  Draga 
placed  herself  unreservedly  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Russian  Government,  to  achieve  the  special  objects 
of  the  Russian  policy  in  Servia. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  the  members  of 
the  Diplomatic  Corps  in  Belgrade  did  not  hesitate  to 


RUSSIA  AND  THE  RUIN  OF  ALEXANDER     71 

attend  the  weekly  receptions  of  Mme.  Draga,  and 
to  invite  her  to  their  own  receptions  and  parties. 
There  was,  therefore,  nothing  extraordinary  that 
the  Russian  diplomats  also  went  to  see  her.  Yet  it 
was  certainly  remarked  that  the  Russian  Military 
Attache*,  Colonel  Taube,  and  his  wife,  were  on  most 
intimate  terms  with  Draga,  and  while  staying  in 
Belgrade  (they  had  to  spend  some  time  every  year 
in  Bucharest  too)  were  almost  daily  visitors  at  the 
pretty  cottage  of  Mme.  Mashin,  in  Crown  Street, 
near  the  Palace.  Mr.  Neklyudoff,  Secretary  of  the 
Russian  Legation,  doing  duty  as  Charge  d' Affaires, 
was  also  an  assiduous  visitor  at  Mme.  Mashin's, 
not  only  on  her  reception  days,  but  also  on  other 
days.  It  was  noticed  that  Neklyudoff  often  met 
King  Alexander  at  the  house  of  his  mistress,  and 
remained  with  them  for  some  time.  King  Milan 
and  his  faithful  Dr.  Vladan  knew  this  well,  but 
thought  it  nothing  extraordinary  that  Colonel  Taube 
and  Mr.  Neklyudoff  paid  some  attention  to  Draga 
Mashin,  who  loved  rather  to  parade  her  Russophil 
sentiments.  The  cordiality  of  King  Alexander 
with  them  both  was  so  great  that  they  could  not 
for  a  moment  suspect  that  perhaps  a  great  intrigue 
against  them  was  slowly  preparing  at  his  meetings 
with  Mr.  Neklyudoff  in  the  perfumed  boudoir  of  his 
mistress. 

Mr.  Pera  Todorovich  in  his  Memoirs  (Ogledalo 
iv.  and  v.  pp.  58-63),  writes  as  follows  : — 

"On  the   iQth  October  1897,  the  day  on  which 
King  Alexander  arrived  in  Belgrade  from  Paris,  ac- 


72  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

companied  by  his  father  Milan,  I  had  at  the  house 
of  a  prominent  Radical  politician  a  meeting  with 
the   distinguished   Russian  diplomatist   Mr.   Z.   I., 
and  had  with  him  a  conversation  which  lasted  fully 
four  hours.     According  to  the  Russian  diplomatist 
the  return  of  King  Milan  to  Servia  meant  the  in- 
auguration of  great  and  dangerous  changes  in  the 
home  as  well  as  foreign  policy  of  Servia.     In  the 
internal  policy  the  Liberal  regime  will  be  replaced 
again  by  the  regime  of  '  Order  and  Work,'  which 
practically  means   'the  Court  to  give  orders   and 
the    people    to    execute    them.'       The    promised 
change  of  the  Constitution  will  be  again  adjourned 
at  least  by  three  or  four  years.     In  the  foreign 
policy  the  inaugurated  agreement  with  Russia  will 
be   abandoned,    and   Servia   and  Austro- Hungary 
are  again  politically  to  embrace  each  other.     With 
Austrian  millions  King  Milan  will  transform  Nish 
into    a    great   fortified  camp,   into   which    Austro- 
Hungary   could   in   the   case   of    necessity   throw 
200,000   men,    command    the    Belgrade  -  Salonica 
road,  and  become  the  master  of  the  South- Western 
part  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula.     This  the  Servians 
ought  never  to  permit  to  be   done.     They  must 
prevent  the  accomplishment  of  Milan's  plans   by 
every  means,  and  force  him  to    leave   Servia  for 
good.     Russia  would  help  them  to  do  that,  but  in 
a  certain  form,  and  under  certain  precautions,  as  it 
is  not  advisable  that  Russia  should  openly  meddle 
with    the   internal   questions    of    Servia.      Russia 
interests   herself  for    Servia    only    because    your 


RUSSIA  AND  THE  RUIN  OF  ALEXANDER     73 

country  is  a  Slavonic  and  orthodox  country.  She 
wants  to  save  you  from  being  transformed  into 
Germans  and  Catholics.  That  is  the  only  reason 
why  Russia  would  be  prepared  to  help  you  to 
get  rid  of  King  Milan.  Some  means  must  be 
found  to  force  him  to  leave  the  country,  and  never 
to  return.  In  politics  the  women  play  often  very 
important  parts.  Frenchmen  have  good  reason 
when  they  say,  '  Cherchez  la  femme ' !  Such  means 
you  ought  to  adopt  here.  King  Alexander  being 
young  as  he  is,  you  will  easily  succeed  by  such 
methods.  To  separate  definitely  the  son  from 
his  father,  and  to  force  King  Milan  to  leave  Servia 
for  ever  at  the  bidding  of  his  own  son,  such  a 
result  a  woman  could  only  achieve.  You  ought 
to  find  such  a  woman." 

"  Probably  you  have  in  view  a  proper  marriage 
of  the  King  ?  "  I  asked  him. 

"By  marriage  or  not,  all  the  same!  King 
Milan  thinks  to  obtain  for  his  son  the  hand  of  a 
German  Princess,  and  thereby  to  secure  for  him 
the  protectorship  of  Emperor  William.  But  by 
such  a  marriage  the  King  and  Servia  would  be 
drawn  into  the  German  waters  and  be  lost  for 
the  Slavonic  idea!  You  Servians  must  prevent 
that  by  all  means.  And  the  best  tool  for  such 
an  object  is  a  proper  woman.  This  is  my  own 
idea,  which  I  have  communicated  already  some 
time  ago  to  some  of  my  Russian  and  Servian 
friends.  Indeed  it  may  be  that  by  this  time 
something  in  that  direction  has  been  accomplished." 


74  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Mr.  Todorovich  draws  the  attention  to  the 
fact  that  on  that  very  day  a  communication  was 
sent  from  the  Court  to  his  own  paper,  the  Male 
Novine,  announcing  that  the  Court  lady  of  Queen 
Nathalie,  Mme.  Draga  Mashin,  had  been  at  her 
own  request  relieved  of  her  duties  on  account 
of  her  bad  health.  Mr.  Todorovich  goes  on  to 
argue  that  after  all  the  report  may  be  true,  that 
Queen  Nathalie  acted  on  the  advice  of  her  Russian 
friends,  when  she  placed  her  pretty  ''Court  Lady" 
in  the  path  of  her  young  son. 

If  such  reports  could  be  verified  they  would 
enormously  intensify  the  tragedy  of  the  poor 
young  man,  the  last  of  the  Obrenovichs.  Would 
it  not  be  intensely  tragic  if  a  woman,  to  harm  her 
hated  husband,  caused  in  the  end  the  ruin  of  her 
own  beloved  son  ? 

However,  not  only  is  it  impossible  to  verify  those 
reports,  but  other  facts  prove  that,  the  moment 
Queen  Nathalie  discovered  the  relations  of  her  Court 
lady  with  her  son,  she  dismissed  Mme.  Mashin. 

But  what  Queen  Nathalie  did  not  do,  fate 
did.  It  would  have  been  better  if  the  Queen 
had  retained  Draga  at  Biarritz,  but  evidently  she 
could  not.  Draga  was  predestined  to  fill  one  of 
the  principal  parts  in  the  great  tragedy,  and  she 
had  to  go  to  Belgrade  to  enjoy  the  love  of  the 
young  King  Alexander,  in  the  shadow  of  the  Old 
Palace,  dreaming  of  the  throne  and  the  crown, 
without  a  thought  of  what  awaited  her  and  her 
beloved  Sasha,  a  few  years  later  on,  in  the  same 


RUSSIA  AND  THE  RUIN  OF  ALEXANDER     75 

Old  Palace  of  Belgrade!  And  was  the  poor 
woman,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  nothing  but 
a  fascinating  servant,  a  beautiful  but  helpless  tool 
in  the  hands  of  Russia  ? 

I  again  quote  from  Mr.  Todorovich's 
Memoirs : — 

One  day  in  March  1900  the  Prefect  of  the 
Police,  Mr.  Rista  Bademlich,  called  Mr. 
Todorovich  to  his  office  in  the  Prefecture.  Both 
men  were  old  friends,  both  sincerely  devoted  to 
King  Milan  and  to  his  son. 

"I  want  you,"  said  the  Prefect  to  Mr. 
Todorovich,  "  to  help  me,  with  your  better 
knowledge  of  the  Russian  language,  to  find  out 
what  is  the  true  object  of  a  Russian  who  arrived 
in  our  town  a  few  days  ago,  and  who  insists  on 
having  a  private  audience  with  King  Milan.  You 
take  the  place  at  that  table,  and  I  will  introduce 
you  to  him  as  my  private  secretary." 

He  sent  for  the  Russian,  who  in  less  than  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  arrived,  as  he  was  staying  at 
the  Hotel  Imperial,  not  far  from  the  Prefecture. 
The  Russian  was  a  tall  and  handsome  man,  of 
middle  age,  with  a  well-groomed,  greyish  beard, 
large  blue  and  smiling  eyes,  well  dressed,  and 
very  distinguished  -  looking.  When  the  Prefect 
Bademlich  introduced  him  to  Mr.  Todorovich  as 
to  his  private  secretary,  the  Russian  looked  steadily 
into  the  face  of  Mr.  Todorovich,  and  then,  turning 
to  the  Prefect,  said  in  a  tone  which  betrayed  great 
surprise — 


76  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

"What  is  that?  Why  is  that?  Why  this 
mystification?  Sir,  this  gentleman  is  not  your 
secretary,  he  is  a  journalist ! "  And  then,  turning 
to  Mr  Todorovich,  he  said,  "  Peter  Todorovich, 
do  you  not  remember  me,  Stakevich-Matushkin  ?  " 

Then  Mr.  Todorovitch  recognised  an  old 
Russian  friend,  whom  he  knew  some  twenty  years 
ago  in  Paris,  in  the  circle  of  the  Russian  emigrants, 
and  whom  he  met  lately  at  the  celebration  of 
Pushkin's  centenary,  in  Petersburg.  He  ex- 
plained to  him  satisfactorily  the  ''mystification" 
of  his  acting  as  pseudo-secretary  of  the  Prefect. 
Then  they  both,  Mr.  Bademlich  and  Mr.  Todoro- 
vich, tried  for  some  time  unsuccessfully  to  find  out 
the  nature  of  the  communication  which  he  wished, 
"under  four  eyes,"  to  communicate  to  King  Milan. 
But  he  persisted  in  refusing  it,  only  assuring  them 
that  King  Milan  would  not  repent  if  he  received 
him,  and  he  left  them,  saying  that  he  intended  to 
leave  Belgrade  at  once.  Mr.  Todorovich  followed 
him,  and  had  all  sorts  of  interesting  talk  with  him. 
At  the  moment  of  taking  leave  of  each  other, 
Matushkin  looked  for  some  moments  straight  into 
the  eyes  of  his  Servian  friend,  and  then  said  with 
evident  emotion,  and  great  emphasis — 

"Peter  Todorovich,  listen!  Not  six  months 
will  pass  from  this  day,  and  you  will  have  here  in 
Servia  a  great  crisis  and  a  fatal  political  change. 
All  the  plans  of  King  Milan  will  be  destroyed. 
He  himself  will  be  brutally  removed  from  Servia. 
King  Alexander  will  fall  into  Russian  slavery,  he 


RUSSIA  AND  THE  RUIN  OF  ALEXANDER     77 

will  be  married  to  a  common  woman  who  is  in  no 
respects  a  proper  party  for  him,  he  will  remain 
without  children,  and  will  be  entirely  ruined. 
Servia  may  be  in  such  a  position  that  she 
may,  indeed,  disappear  as  an  independent  State. 
And  all  this  will  be  done  by  perfidious  Russian 
policy,  using  as  a  tool  a  common  woman,  and — 
what  astonishes  me  as  still  more  extraordinary — a 
Servian  woman !  Peter  Todorovich,  remember 
what  I  have  told  you  this  day  !  Good-bye  !  " 

This  is  the  faithful  abstract  of  the  detailed 
statement  published  by  Mr.  Todorovich  in  his 
Memoirs,  Ogledalo  v.  pp.  63-70. 

As  I  did  not  approve  of  King  Alexander's 
marriage  with  Mme.  Draga  Mashin,  I  was,  shortly 
after  their  wedding,  informed  that  I  was  to  be 
replaced  in  Constantinople  as  Servian  Minister  by 
General  Sava  Grooich,  a  Panslavist  and  therefore 
a  persona  gratissima  at  the  Russian  Court.  I  wish 
to  take  this  opportunity  to  say  with  grateful 
acknowledgment  that,  although  I  was  well  known 
not  to  belong  to  the  Panslavists,  I  was  always  most 
generously  treated  and  supported,  during  the  few 
months  of  my  activity  in  Constantinople,  by  the 
Russian  Ambassador,  Mr.  Zinovieff. 

On  my  way  from  Constantinople  to  Abazzia  I 
stopped  for  a  few  days  in  Belgrade  to  pay  my 
respects  to  the  King,  and  to  see  the  new  Queen  of 
Servia.  1  had  visited  many  gentlemen  and  lady 
friends  in  the  highest  Belgrade  society,  and  found 
the  general  impression  prevalent  that  the  marriage 


78  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

of  Alexander  with  Draga  was  the  work  of  the 
Russian  policy.  Everybody  assured  me  that  the 
general  consternation  was  dispelled — or  rather  re- 
placed— by  another  consternation,  and  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  Church,  the  army,  and  of  the  people  at 
large,  weakened  the  moment  it  was  announced, 
that  the  Tzar  was  to  be  the  "Koom"  at  the 
marriage,  and  that  he  had  congratulated  Alexander 
on  his  engagement  with  Draga. 

One  of  the  ladies  belonging  to  the  upper  ten  of 
Belgrade  society,  the  wife  of  a  General,  who  was 
rather  an  intimate  friend  of  Draga  Mashin  before 
she  became  the  Queen  of  King  Alexander,  told  me 
what  in  her  own  circle  of  lady  friends  was  believed 
to  be  the  true  story  of  how  this  fatal  marriage  came 
about. 

"Of  course,"  began  Madame  N.  N.,  "we  all 
knew  that  King  Alexander  was  much  in  love  with 
Draga,  and  that  she  simply  adored  him.  How 
often  have  I  not  said  to  her :  *  Look  here,  Draga, 
thou  beautifiest  thyself  too  much,  and  there  is  no 
wonder  that  the  King  is  so  much  in  love  with  thee. 
But  surely  thou  willst  not  turn  his  head  to  that 
degree  that  he  might  make  thee  the  Queen  of 
Servia?'  Draga  would  always  jump  up  in  rage 
and  indignation :  '  What  thinkest  thou  I  am  ? 
I  hate  thee  for  talking  such  nonsense.  Thou 
knowest  I  adore  Sasha,  and  just  because  I  adore 
him  I  shall  never  stand  for  a  moment  between 
him  and  his  duty.  He  must  marry  a  foreign 
Princess,  who  would  bring  him  valuable  political 


RUSSIA  AND  THE  RUIN  OF  ALEXANDER     79 

connections,  wealth,  perhaps  even  true  happiness, 
and  I  will  gladly  sacrifice  my  own  happiness  to 
his ! '  We  knew  also  that  she  really  spoke  in 
the  same  way  to  King  Alexander. 

"  Then  the  Russian  General  N.  N.  arrived  in 
Belgrade.  You  know  him  ?  Well  you  must  know 
whom  he  married  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  said.  "  I  knew  him  as  a  bachelor,  who 
had  a  Roumanian  girl  for  his  mistress." 

4 'Very  well,"  continued  my  friend,  "  the  very 
same  girl  became  his  wife.  During  their  pro- 
longed stay  here  they  went  often  to  Draga,  and 
she  became  soon  very  fond  of  the  General's 
wife.  The  little  Roumanian  told  her  one  day 
that,  although  the  General  was  very  fond  of  her, 
he  never  meant  to  marry  her,  until  she  heard  of 
an  old  Roumanian  witch,  somewhere  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Plojesti,  went  to  see  her,  and  for  a 
few  napoleons  obtained  from  her  the  assurance 
that  she  would  make  him  marry  her,  and  a  charm 
which  she  gave  her  General  to  drink  in  a  cup  of 
coffee. 

11  Not  quite  two  weeks  after  this  assurance,  and 
not  a  week  after  that  coffee,  the  General  one 
morning  rose  up,  seemingly  absorbed  in  deep  and 
melancholy  thoughts.  *  What  is  the  matter  ? ' 
his  little  Roumanian  sweetheart  asked.  '  A  great 
deal  is  the  matter ! '  answered  the  General,  always 
lost  in  thought.  '  My  conscience  tells  me  that  our 
present  relations  ought  not  to  be  continued,  and 
that,  if  I  am  an  honest  and  honourable  man,  I  ought 


80  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

to  make  you,  before  God  and  before  men,  my  lawful 
wife.'  She  laughed  at  him,  and  refused  him.  He 
repeated  his  offer,  and  she  repeated  her  refusal, 
every  morning  through  a  whole  week,  until  at  last 
the  General  said  that  he  had  no  alternative  but  to 
marry  her,  and  face  bravely  the  reproaches  of  his 
relatives  and  friends,  or — to  kill  himself!  The 
Roumanian  sweetheart  of  the  old  General  then 
gave  her  consent.  Telling  that  story  with  all  the 
details,  she  asked  Draga  to  give  her  some  of  her 
own  hair,  and  some  of  King  Alexander's,  and  she 
would,  on  her  own  responsibility,  see  the  Plojesti 
witch  again.  We,  of  course,  do  not  know  if  Draga 
did  really  send  her  and  the  King's  hair  to  the 
Plojesti  witch,  but  we  all  conclude  that  she  must 
have  done  so,  seeing  that  King  Alexander  behaved 
exactly  as  the  Russian  General." 

I  reproduce  this  story  here,  not  because  I  think 
it  may  be  perfectly  true  in  all  its  details,  but 
because  it  was  largely  believed  amongst  the  ladies 
of  Belgrade,  and  because  it  is  a  picturesque  illustra- 
tion of  the  general  belief  that  the  marriage  of  King 
Alexander  with  Draga  Mashin  was  prearranged 
by  Russia. 


CHAPTER   IX 

MADAME    DRAGA    MASHIN 

IT  is  remarkable  what  a  fatal  influence  woman 
exercised  on  the  life  and  political  career  of  the 
Princes  of  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty. 

Prince  Milosh  Obrenovich  i.  was  an  exceedingly 
gifted  and  energetic  man,  a  true-born  leader  of  men, 
not  only  the  founder  of  a  dynasty,  but  the  founder  and 
the  creator  of  the  autonomous  Servian  Principality. 
A  strong  man  in  the  struggle  with  men  and 
political  difficulties,  he  had  a  great  weakness  for  the 
female  sex.  His  infidelities  gave  just  cause  for 
resentment  to  his  once  very  beautiful  wife,  Princess 
Lubitza,  and  that  resentment  gave  a  powerful 
assistance  to  the  opponents  of  Prince  Milosh. 
Without  the  domestic  trouble  caused  by  the  jealousy 
(perfectly  justified)  of  his  wife,  Prince  Milosh 
probably  would  not  have  been  sent  into  exile  in 

1839- 

Prince  Michael  Obrenovich  iv.  was  altogether 
a  noble  man,  a  great  patriot,  and  an  able  statesman, 
the  finest  individuality  in  the  history  of  Servia 
during  the  nineteenth  century.  By  his  diplomacy 
he  obtained  without  war  or  other  sacrifice 
6 


82  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

the  evacuation  of  the  Turkish  fortresses  on  the 
Servian  territory.  Yet  his  separation  from  his 
beautiful  but  childless  wife,  Princess  Julia  (ne'e 
Countess  Hunyady),  and  his  intention  to  marry 
Katharina,  the  daughter  of  his  cousin,  Mme.  Anka 
Constantinovich,  gave  to  the  partisans  of  Kara- 
georgevich  one  of  the  pivots  by  which  they  raised  up 
dissatisfaction  amongst  the  people  against  even  such 
a  generous  man  and  successful  ruler.  While  he  was 
walking  with  his  cousin  (Mme.  Anka)  and  her 
daughter,  accompanied  only  by  an  aide-de-camp, 
on  a  lonely  path  in  the  forest  of  Koshootnyak,  he 
was,  on  the  fatal  29th  May  (Old  Style)  1868, 
attacked  by  conspirators  and  cruelly  murdered. 

What  bitterness  and  humiliation,  what  dissatis- 
faction in  the  country  and  in  Europe  at  large,  was 
created  by  the  unseemly  and  undignified  quarrel 
between  King  Milan  and  Queen  Nathalie  is  well 
known.  And  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt 
that  the  fatal  resolve,  the  abdication,  was  instilled 
into  his  mind  by  his  mistress,  Mme.  Arthemise 
Christich. 

The  terrible  end  of  King  Alexander  Obrenovich 
v.  was  mainly  brought  about,  and  the  tragedy  of 
his  life  deepened,  by  his  love  for  Draga  Mashin. 

One  of  the  more  prominent  and  influential 
Servians  who  supported  Milosh  Obrenovich,  when 
he  invited  the  people  to  rise  again  against  the  Turks 
(Palm  Sunday,  1815,  at  Takovo  Church),  was 
Nikola  Lunyevitza.  It  is  not  clear  if  ever  he 
commanded  a  body  of  armed  Servians  in  the  in- 


MADAME  DRAG  A  MASHIN  83 

surrection  against  the  Turks,  or  if  he  ever  had  been 
called  a  Voyvode  ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  he 
was  a  man  of  good  common  sense,  calm  and  wise 
judgment,  and  as  a  successful  exporter  of  cattle  and 
pigs  from  Serviahad  made  lots  of  money.  He  was 
patriotic  enough  to  lend  Milosh  Obrenovich  money 
whenever  he  wanted  to  buy  arms.  Milosh  liked 
him,  and  esteemed  him  so  much  that  he  made 
him  his  "pobratim" — "  adopted  brother."  Milosh 
Obrenovich  and  Nikola  Lunyevitza  never  addressed 
each  other  otherwise  than  as  "  Pobratime,"  namely, 
"  Thou  who  art  as  a  brother  to  me." 

The  son  of  this  Nikola  Lunyevitza,  Panta,  was 
Prefect  of  Shabatz  during  the  earlier  years  of 
King  Milan's  reign.  Towards  the  end  of  his  life 
he  became  unhinged  in  his  mind,  and  died  in  an 
asylum.  He  had  several  daughters,  of  whom  the 
second  bore  the  very  popular  name  "  Draga,"  which, 
in  the  Servian  language,  means  "  The  dear  one." 

This  "  dear  one "  was  a  very  pretty  girl,  with 
elegant  figure,  pale,  yet  peculiarly  warm  complexion, 
finely  cut  features,  and  with  wonderfully  beautiful, 
velvety-brown,  large  and  very  expressive  eyes. 
When  quite  a  schoolgirl  she  married  Svetozar, 
the  youngest  son  of  Dr.  Mashin,  a  Czek  (Bohemian) 
by  birth,  but  a  naturalised  Servian  citizen,  a 
successful  and  skilful  doctor,  but  rather  unpopular 
on  account  of  his  bad  temper  and  unscrupulous 
principles. 

Svetozar  Mashin  was  a  mining  engineer  by 
profession,  in  the  employment  of  the  Ministry  of 


84  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Finance.  He  died  after  hardly  a  year  of  his  wedded 
life,  somewhat  suddenly,  but  not  mysteriously.  The 
enemies  of  Queen  Draga  liked  to  spread  the  report 
that  she  had  poisoned  her  first  husband.  But  at 
the  time  of  his  death  I  was  Minister  of  Finance, 
and  he  one  of  my  secretaries  of  the  Mining  Depart- 
ment, and  as  such  was  ordered  to  manage  for  a 
short  time  one  of  the  Government's  mining  estab- 
lishments. I  remember  at  the  time  I  was  told  that 
my  secretary  died  of  delirium  tremens,  and  I  was 
not  surprised,  as  I  knew  him  to  be  a  hard  drinker. 

A  young  and  pretty  widow,  with  a  very 
small  fortune,  and  still  smaller  pension  (which,  I 
think,  was  not  more  than  £$  per  month,  which  she 
drew  from  the  Government  as  the  widow  of  a  State 
employe*),  she  was  surrounded  by  many  admirers, 
dangers,  and  temptations.  Queen  Nathalie,  who 
delighted  in  doing  good  and  charitable  actions, 
was  told  that  this  pretty  and  bright  young  woman 
was  a  granddaughter  of  Prince  Milosh's  "  Pobratim," 
and  she  took  at  once  very  deep  interest  in  her.  I 
am  sure  the  Queen  would  not  have  done  that  if  she 
knew  that  the  rumours  already  set  in  motion  about 
her  love  intrigues  with  gentlemen  had  any  real 
foundation.  Noticing  that  her  education  was  only 
that  which  a  daughter  of  the  middle- class  people 
could  enjoy  in  Servia,  the  Queen  paid  teachers  of 
foreign  languages  for  her,  and  inspired  in  her  the 
taste  for  reading  French  and  German  books.  She 
made  remarkable  progress,  and  her  Royal  bene- 
factress was  quite  proud  to  introduce  such  a  pretty, 


MADAME  DRAG  A  MASHIN  85 

witty,  and  apparently  cultured  young  Servian  lady 
to  the  families  of  the  foreign  diplomatists  accredited 
to  the  Servian  Court. 

She  moved  in  the  very  best  society  in  the 
Servian  capital,  and  was  received  everywhere  with 
much  pleasure.  Of  course,  in  a  small  town  like 
Belgrade,  tongues  are  sharper  than  in  a  great  town, 
and  imagination  tries  always  to  supply  the  Chronique 
Scandaleuse  with  invented  stories,  for  want  of  real 
facts.  Many  an  envious  Belgrade  beauty  had  only 
one  explanation  for  the  pretty  young  widow's 
frequent  visits  to  the  Palace,  namely,  that  she  was 
the  mistress  of  King  Milan  !  The  intimate  friends  of 
King  Milan  knew  well  who  his  mistress  was,  or,  to 
be  more  precise,  who  his  mistresses  were,  since  1880, 
at  different  periods.  I  can  safely  say  that  Draga 
Mashin  never  was  the  mistress  of  King  Milan.  A 
great  "  psychic  "  as  he  was,  he  had  from  the  very 
beginning  of  her  connection  with  the  Court  a  sort 
of  aversion  for  her.  At  the  time  I  used  to  explain 
that  aversion  by  the  fact  that  Draga  Mashin  was 
one  of  the  favourites  of  Queen  Nathalie,  and  King 
Milan  could  not  bear  the  favourites  of  his  wife. 

When  Queen  Nathalie  in  1890  decided  to  settle 
in  France,  and  built  for  herself  a  pretty  villa, 
"Sashino,"  at  Biarritz,  she  took  Draga  Mashin  as 
her  Dame  dhonneur.  To  be  permanently  in  the 
company  of  such  a  woman  as  Queen  Nathalie  was 
really  a  liberal  education  in  itself.  As  the  Queen's 
company  was  constantly  sought  by  the  best  and 
highest  French,  Spanish,  and  Russian  nobility,  and 


86  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

as  during  the  Biarritz  season  many  distinguished 
English  and  American  families  visited  the  Queen 
at  "  Sashino,"  Madame  Draga  Mashin  had  extra- 
ordinary opportunities  of  making  acquaintance  with 
the  very  best  society  in  Europe.  She  was  much 
admired,  and  made  many  friends.  After  she 
became  Queen  of  Servia  I  have  on  one  occasion 
seen  in  her  boudoir  at  the  Old  Palace  in  Belgrade, 
hundreds  of  photographs  of  most  distinguished 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  whom  she  made  her  friends 
at  Biarritz  as  Queen  Nathalie's  Dame  dhonneur. 

It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  accusations, 
which,  after  her  marriage  with  King  Alexander, 
her  personal  enemies,  and  the  enemies  of  the 
Obrenovich  Dynasty,  threw  out  against  her,  as  if 
she  had  been  a  woman  of  loose  character,  seem  to 
me  to  be  without  foundation.  I,  personally,  do  not 
know  a  single  fact  which  could  be  construed  in  that 
sense  against  her,  except  the  fact  that  she  became 
the  mistress  of  King  Alexander.  I  admit  that  my 
testimony  is  not  worth  much,  as  I  did  not  watch 
her  career.  But  I  am  sure  that  a  woman  so 
absolutely  virtuous  as  Queen  Nathalie,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  woman  so  wide-awake,  so  sharp,  so 
decisive  and  uncompromising,  and  one  who  had 
extraordinary  means  to  know  and  to  hear,  would 
not  have  taken  Draga  Mashin  as  her  Dame 
dhonneur  if  she  had  the  slightest  cause  of  suspicion 
as  to  her  character.  The  very  fact  that  Queen 
Nathalie  took  Draga  to  her  Court  in  1890  speaks 
in  favour  of  Draga's  character  up  to  that  time. 


MADAME  DRAGA  MASHIN  87 

Nor  is  it  likely  that  while  she  was  living  in  Sashino, 
permanently  under  the  eyes  of  Queen  Nathalie,  she 
could  have  indulged  in  love  intrigues  with  anyone. 
The  moment  Queen  Nathalie  possessed  one  of  her 
letters,  proving  that  she  had  a  love  intrigue  with 
King  Alexander,  she  dismissed  her  at  once.  As  a 
young,  pretty,  and  spirited  woman,  surrounded  by 
flattering  and  admiring,  perhaps  even  adoring,  men, 
young  and  old,  she  might  have  indulged  in  some 
flirtation,  but  in  my  opinion,  and  to  my  best 
knowledge,  she  was  the  mistress  of  only  one  man- 
King  Alexander. 

There  is  a  curious  incident  belonging  to  the  time 
Draga  Mashin  was  Queen  Nathalie's  Court  lady. 
The  story  was  told  confidentially  to  some  intimate 
friends  by  Mademoiselle  Tzana  Gyorgyevich, 
who  acted  for  some  time  at  Biarritz  as  Queen 
Nathalie's  Maid  of  Honour  (Demoiselle  d'honneur), 
while  Draga  functioned  as  Lady  of  Honour.  One 
day  (I  do  not  know  exactly  what  year,  between 
1890  and  1897)  the  Queen  went  to  Paris  to  visit 
her  sister,  Princess  Ghica,  and  took  both  her  ladies 
with  her.  Before  returning  from  Paris  she  went, 
accompanied  by  Madame  Draga  and  Mademoiselle 
Tzana,  to  see  and  consult  the  famous  Parisian 
clairvoyante,  Madame  Thebes.  What  she  told  the 
Queen  is  not  reported,  except  that  she  said : 
"  Your  Majesty  is  cherishing  in  your  bosom  a 
poisonous  snake,  which  one  day  will  give  you  a 
mortal  wound."  To  Mademoiselle  Tzana  she  said 
that  she  would  never  marry  (and  she  is  still  un- 


88  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

married  when  I  write  this !).  To  Madame  Draga 
Mashin  she  said:  "You  have  great  ambition,  you 
will  have  an  extraordinary  career,  you  will  marry 
the  highest  personage  in  the  country  ;  but  you  will 
bring  only  ruin  to  your  husband,  and  you  will 
perish  with  him." 

After  the  marriage  of  King  Alexander  with 
Draga  Mashin,  this  extraordinary  story  appeared 
in  one  of  the  Servian  newspapers,  and  naturally 
created  a  great  sensation.  Both  Queen  Draga  and 
King  Alexander  were  exceedingly  annoyed,  and  as 
Draga  suspected  Mademoiselle  Tzana  of  having 
communicated  it  to  the  Press,  poor  Mademoiselle 
Tzana  was  summoned  before  the  Prefect  of  the 
Police,  to  show  why  she  should  not  be  punished 
for  an  indiscretion,  which  was  disturbing  the  peace 
of  the  Royal  couple,  as  well  as  of  the  loyal  citizens. 
Mademoiselle  Tzana  requested  and  obtained  per- 
mission to  see  the  Queen,  and  proved  to  her  that 
she  was  innocent. 

King  Alexander  seems  to  have  been  in  certain 
respects  abnormally  constituted.  The  question  is 
rather  a  physiological  one,  and  of  a  delicate  nature. 
On  one  occasion  a  doctor,  who  knew  the  young 
King  very  well,  told  me  that  he  doubted  if  King 
Alexander  would  ever  have  an  heir  to  the  throne. 
In  1895  King  Milan  told  me  in  Paris  that,  although 
his  Sasha  was  quite  a  brilliant  garfon,  in  one  point 
he  astonished  him ;  not  only  that  in  the  society  of 
ladies  he  is  absolutely  gauche,  but  that  he  seemed 
to  be  absolutely  impervious  to  the  influence  of  the 


MADAME  DRAG  A  MASHIN  89 

most  charming  women  in  the  world !  Poor  King 
Milan  did  not  know  at  that  time  that  there  was 
someone  in  the  world,  and  not  very  far  from  Paris, 
a  woman  to  whose  charms  his  brilliant,  but  other- 
wise cold,  son  had  already  succumbed. 

King  Alexander  informed  me  on  one  occasion 
(after  his  marriage)  that  he  fell  in  love  with  Draga 
whilst  visiting  his  mother,  Queen  Nathalie,  at 
Biarritz,  in  1897.  He  said  the  same  thing  to  Mr. 
Vukashin  Petrovich,  the  temporary  President  of  his 
Government  in  1900.  For  a  month  or  six  weeks 
he  was  constantly  in  the  company  of  the  fascinating 
young  widow,  not  always  under  the  vigilant  eyes  of 
his  mother.  He  and  Draga  went  almost  daily  for 
a  ride  on  their  bicycles,  and  often  quite  alone. 
They  used  to  swim  in  the  sea  together,  or  rather 
to  take  lessons  in  swimming  together.  Many 
people  blame  Queen  Nathalie  for  allowing  her  son 
to  be  so  much,  and  in  such  risky  circumstances, 
with  her  attractive  Dante  d'honneur,  and  some  even 
suspected  that  she  intentionally  led  him  to  fall  in 
love  with  her  "  Court  Lady,"  in  order  to  displace 
altogether  King  Milan's  influence  with  his  son. 
Certainly  neither  Milan  nor  Nathalie,  in  their  hatred 
of  each  other,  were  over  scrupulous  in  selecting 
their  weapons ;  but  whoever  knew  Queen  Nathalie's 
character,  would  also  know  that  she  was  incapable 
of  such  a  mean  and  dangerous  intrigue.  She 
wanted,  naturally,  to  see  her  "  Sasha  "  pleased  and 
happy,  and  she  had  full  confidence  in  her  Dame 
dhonneur. 


90  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

King  Alexander  told  the  Minister,  Vukashin 
Petrovich,  that  Draga,  when  he  fell  in  love  with 
her,  was  an  absolutely  virtuous  woman,  that  she 
rejected  with  indignation  his  advances,  that  on  one 
occasion,  when  in  blind  passion  he  entered  her 
room  in  the  Villa  Sashino,  she  peremptorily  asked 
him  to  leave  at  once,  and  when  he  hesitated  she 
took  him  by  the  shoulders,  pushed  him  out,  and 
turned  the  key  in  the  door.  Of  course,  such 
conduct  added  fresh  fuel  to  the  fire  of  his  love. 
But  was  the  conduct  of  the  young  widow  the 
conduct  of  an  honourable  woman,  or  was  it  but  the 
clever  acting  of  a  schemer?  If  the  poor  boy  took 
it  as  the  honourable  conduct  of  an  honest  woman, 
and  his  virtuous  and  experienced  mother  thought 
her  Court  lady  perfectly  honest  and  reliable,  what 
right  have  we  to  declare  that  Draga  Mashin  acted 
only  as  a  clever  but  unscrupulous,  designing 
woman  ? 

King  Alexander  told  the  same  Minister, 
Vukashin  Petrovich,  that  Draga  resisted  his 
advances  for  more  than  three  years.  But  they  seem 
to  have  been  writing  to  each  other  endearing  love- 
letters.  One  of  these  fell  into  the  hands  of  Queen 
Nathalie.  She  was  dumbfounded  by  the  discovery. 
In  a  great  rage  she  ordered  her  Court  lady,  and 
for  years  her  favourite,  to  leave  Sashino  for  ever. 
Not  satisfied  with  this,  Queen  Nathalie  wrote  to 
some  of  her  lady  friends  that  Draga  Mashin  had 
betrayed 'her  confidence,  and  behaved  as  a  "bad 


woman." 


MADAME  DRAG  A  MASHIN  91 

Draga  Mashin  left  Sashino,  and  came  to 
Belgrade,  to  become  the  mistress  of  King 
Alexander. 

A  small,  but  pretty  and  comfortable,  house  was 
engaged  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Old  Palace, 
sumptuously  furnished,  and  Draga  Mashin  installed 
as  its  mistress. 

King  Milan  hated  the  woman,  but  thought 
himself  not  justified  in  interfering  in  the  love-affair 
of  "  his  King  and  master  " — as  he  loved  to  call  his 
son.  Dr.  Vladan  Georgevich,  the  Premier,  as  he 
tells  us  himself  in  his  remarkable  Memoirs,  tried 
even  once  in  the  discussion  with  the  Prefect  of  the 
Belgrade  Police  to  justify  his  King  and  master  for 
having  this  one  and  only  mistress.  The  Arch- 
bishop Inokentiye  knew  of  it,  and  never  opened 
his  lips  to  say  a  word  on  the  immorality  of  such 
relations.  All  the  officers,  all  the  citizens,  knew 
about  it ;  all  the  diplomatists,  and  even  the  most 
distinguished  among  them  went  to  the  weekly 
receptions  of  Madame  Draga,  and  invited  her  to 
their  dinners  and  entertainments. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE   REGIME   OF    "  WORK   AND    ORDER " 

IN  September  1897  I  asked  and  at  once  obtained 
permission  to  come  for  a  day  or  two  from  London 
to  Paris,  to  pay  my  respects  to  King  Alexander, 
who  had  arrived  there  on  his  return  to  Servia  from 
Biarritz,  where  he  had  been  staying  for  some  time, 
and  for  the  last  time,  with  his  mother,  Queen 
Nathalie. 

Both  King  Alexander  and  his  father,  King 
Milan,  received  me  most  graciously,  and  retained  me 
as  their  guest  ten  days,  until  their  own  departure 
for  Servia. 

The  King  confided  to  me  that  he  was  going  to 
take  his  father  with  him  to  Servia,  and  keep  him 
there  at  his  side  permanently,  in  spite  of  the 
"  shameful  "  law  which  the  Radicals,  "  the  enemies 
of  the  dynasty,"  passed  during  his  minority,  forbid- 
ding the  return  of  King  Milan  to  Servia.  Further, 
he|  told  me  that  his  intention  was,  immediately  on 
his  return  to  Belgrade,  to  dismiss  the  Radical 
Cabinet  of  George  Simich,  and  replace  it  by  a  non- 
partisan  Cabinet  under  Dr.  Vladan  Georgevich. 
He  hoped  Dr.  Vladan,  whom  he  had  ordered  to 


THE  RfiGIME  OF  "WORK  AND  ORDER"     93 

meet  him  in  Vienna,  would  accept  the  mission ; 
but  if  he  should  not  do  so,  then,  the  King  said, 
"  With  all  my  knowledge  of  the  weaknesses  of 
your  Puritanic  heart,  and  of  your  intolerable 
Quakerism,  I  shall  have  no  other  choice  but  to 
appeal  to  you ! "  Both  King  Milan  and  King 
Alexander  thought  that  many  of  my  notions  were 
those  of  a  Puritan,  or  even  of  a  Quaker,  and  often 
called  me  the  latter  as  a  nickname. 

Now  I  thought  that  policy  altogether  a  mistaken 
one.  I  knew  to  what  a  waste  of  national  energy  led 
the  political  struggle  between  King  Milan  and  the 
Radicals,  numerically  the  most  powerful  party  in 
Servia.  I  thought,  further,  that  in  the  interests  of 
the  dynasty,  as  well  as  of  the  country,  it  was 
advisable  to  let  the  Radicals  govern  the  country,  to 
learn  to  be  a  party  capable  of  governing,  which  means 
a  party  of  moderation.  Office,  in  my  opinion,  was 
the  only  school  in  which  the  better  elements  among 
the  Radical  politicians  would  learn  to  be  true  states- 
men. The  holding  of  office  would  make  many  bond 
fide  Radicals  friends  of  the  dynasty,  would  weaken 
and  divide  those  who  are  her  enemies.  Besides,  I 
knew  personally  several  members  of  the  Radical 
Cabinet  of  that  time,  as,  for  instance,  Mr.  George 
S.  Simich,  and  Mr.  Michael  Vouich,  to  be  highly 
cultured  and  honourable  men.  Of  course,  I  knew 
well  also  that  Dr.  Vladan,  my  schoolfellow  and 
friend  from  our  earliest  schooldays,  was  one  of  the 
ablest  and  the  most  energetic  statesmen  whom  we 
had,  a  first-rate  orator  and  organiser ;  but  in  spite 


94  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

of  all  I  advised  the  King  strongly  not  to  separate 
himself  from  his  Radical  Cabinet,  and  to  continue 
to  try  and  conciliate  all  the  moderate  elements  of 
the  Radical  Party. 

King  Alexander  explained  to  me  that  he  had 
special  dynastic  reasons,  besides  general  political 
reasons,  why  he  had  decided  to  form  a  non-partisan 
Cabinet,  composed  of  men  in  whom  he  could 
absolutely  trust. 

"  You  know,"  said  King  Alexander  to  me, 
"that  by  political  education  I  am  a  Radical,  as 
much  as  my  father,  by  his  personal  way  of  thinking, 
was  a  Progressive.  You  know  that  I  have  twice 
delivered  myself  into  the  hands  of  the  Radicals,  and 
each  time  they  themselves  gave  me  unmistakable 
proofs  that  I  ought  not  to  trust  them.  You  are 
right  when  you  say  that  George  Simich  and 
Michael  Vouich  are  highly  cultured  men,  and  the 
most  moderate  politicians  among  the  Radicals. 
But  even  these  best  of  Radicals,  into  whose  hands 
I  have  placed  the  country,  how  do  they  behave 
towards  me  and  the  dynasty  ?  Their  political  chief 
and  their  Minister  in  Russia,  Mr.  Pashich,  entered 
into  negotiations  with  Russia  to  replace  me  on  the 
throne  of  Servia  by  a  Russian  Grand  Duke ! 

"  You  are  astonished  ?  .  .  .  But  there  is  no 
doubt  about  it.  My  father  and  myself  have  had 
proofs  in  our  hands.  But  hear  this  story — 

"  Simich  and  Vouich  take  me  to  Cettinje, 
under  the  pretext  of  returning  the  visit  Prince 
Nicholas  made  me  last  year.  Once  there,  they 


THE  REGIME  OF  "WORK  AND  ORDER"     95 

startle  me  by  saying  I  cannot  decently  leave  Cettinje 
without  being  engaged  to  the  Prince's  daughter 
Xenia  !  I  told  them  in  the  first  place  they  ought  to 
have  told  me  that  before  we  started  on  our  journey. 
Besides,  I  informed  them  on  several  occasions  since 
they  became  my  Ministers  that  I  would  marry  only 
the  woman  whom  I  found  attractive,  with  whom  I 
was  in  love,  and  Princess  Xenia,  notwithstanding 
her  many  charms,  had  not  made  me  fall  in  love  with 
her.  Then,  how  did  they  behave  in  another  matter  ? 
I  authorised  them  to  negotiate  with  Prince  Nicholas 
for  a  secret  treaty  of  alliance  concerning  our  common 
interests  in  Old  Servia  and  Macedonia.  They 
agreed,  without  asking  me,  and  without  hesitation, 
that  the  most  important  towns  in  Old  Servia,  among 
others  Prizren,  the  old  capital  of  the  Servian  Empire, 
should  belong  not  to  the  King  of  Servia  but  to  the 
Prince  of  Montenegro.  Of  course,  I  refused  to  give 
my  sanction  to  such  a  stipulation,  but  this  refusal 
put  me  in  an  awkward  position  with  the  Prince. 
Now,  how  can  you  expect  me  to  trust  them  any 
longer  ?  Yes,  let  me  show  you  by  another  example 
how  my  Radical  Ministers  behave  towards  me.  On 
my  arrival  from  Biarritz  I  was  received  at  the 
station  by  the  staff  of  our  Paris  Legation,  many 
Servian  students,  and  Colonel  Vlaich.  '  What  has 
brought  you  here,  Colonel  ? '  I  asked,  thinking  that 
he  was  there  perhaps  on  some  private  business.  *  I 
am,  Sire,  here  on  a  special  official  mission,  to 
negotiate  with  the  French  Government  for  the 
purchase  of  rifles  for  our  army,'  answered  Vlaich. 


96  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

*  Indeed ! '  I  said ;  '  and  I  never  heard  a  word  about 
it ! '  'I  am  astonished  to  learn  that  your  Majesty 
has  not  been  asked  to  approve  of  this  mission,' 
added  the  Colonel,  evidently  disconcerted.  *  So  am 
/astonished,'  I  answered.  And  now,  what  do  you 
say  to  that,  my  dear  defender  of  the  Radicals  ?  " 

In  King  Alexander's  suite  were  Colonel  Laza 
Petrovich,  Lieutenant  -  Colonel  Milivoy  Nico- 
layevich,  and  Dr.  Milichevich,  the  King's  private 
secretary.  Both  officers  did  not  hesitate  to  tell  the 
King,  on  several  occasions,  when  we  discussed  the 
impending  change,  that  they  were  of  my  opinion. 
Dr.  Milichevich,  the  most  discreet  of  men,  did  not 
express  his  opinion  in  the  presence  of  the  King; 
but  I  knew  that  he,  too,  shared  my  views  and  my 
arguments. 

King  Milan  confirmed  what  King  Alexander 
told  me  about  Mr.  Pashich's  secret  negotiations 
with  Russia,  for  placing  a  Russian  Grand  Duke  on 
the  throne  of  Servia.  He  added  that  unmistakable 
proofs  had  been  obtained  and  placed  before  him  and 
his  son,  by  the  intervention  of  a  friendly  Power. 
"The  Russian  intrigue  to  get  Servia  into  her  power 
is  so  persistent,  great,  and  dangerous,  that  I  consider 
it  my  duty  to  return  to  Belgrade,  to  be  at  the  post 
of  danger,  and  to  help  this  poor  and  friendless  young 
man  to  preserve  his  throne." 

I  think  this  is  the  first  time  the  true  motives  for 
the  return  of  King  Milan  to  Servia,  and  for  King 
Alexander's  change  of  home  and  foreign  policy, 
have  been  published.  I  have  no  other  proof, 


THE  REGIME  OF  "WORK  AND  ORDER"     97 

except  my  own  word  of  honour,  that  both  Kings 
Alexander  and  Milan  informed  me  of  those  motives, 
as  I  have  shown.  The  bitter  and  persistently 
inimical  attitude  of  Russia  against  the  new  regime 
in  Servia,  proves  indirectly  the  truth. 

King  Alexander  explained  to  me  that  there 
were  some  other  reasons  why  he  was  convinced  that 
it  was  his  patriotic  duty  to  change  the  home  policy. 
He  did  not  wish  to  abolish  the  constitutional  regime, 
but  he  had  now  enough  experience  with  that  regime 
to  be  justified  in  saying  that  Party  Government,  in 
a  country  with  such  a  passionate,  insufficiently 
educated,  intolerant,  and  economically  poor  people, 
is  far  from  being  a  blessing ;  it  was  rather  a  curse 
than  a  blessing.  He  adopted  his  father's  idea  that 
an  immense  majority  of  the  Servians  of  our  time 
had  only  municipal  and  provincial  horizons,  and 
that  their  political  education  had  not  as  yet  risen  so 
high  as  to  be  able  to  take  a  larger  view  of  State 
interests.  That  was  the  reason  why,  in  the  political 
life  of  Servia,  since  we  had  something  like  a 
parliamentary  regime,  State  interests  very  often 
were  sacrificed  to  petty  municipal  or  provincial 
considerations.  He  wanted  to  try  a  new  political 
experiment,  form  and  keep  a  Liberal  Government, 
which  would  be  equally  just  to  all  parties  and  to 
all  interests,  preserve  order,  stimulate  discipline,  and 
encourage  productive  work  in  all  spheres  of  public 
activity,  cultural  as  well  as  economical. 

In  Vienna,   he  met  Dr.  Vladan,  and,  together 
with  his  father,  insisted  on  his  acceptance   of  the 
7 


98  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Premiership  in  the  new  Cabinet.  As  the  programme 
which  Dr.  Vladan  developed  agreed  in  all  its 
essential  points  with  the  ideas  of  the  King,  the 
matter  was  satisfactorily  settled.  On  October 
nth  (23rd),  1897,  the  official  Gazette  published  the 
Royal  decrees  appointing  Dr.  Vladan  Georgevich 
President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers,  and  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs.  But  on  that  very  day  a  sign 
of  Dr.  Vladan's  weakness,  and  of  King  Alexander's 
unconstitutionalism,  was  given.  Dr.  Vladan  wrote 
the  programme  of  his  Government.  But  instead  of 
being  published  as  such,  namely,  as  the  programme 
of  Government,  King  Alexander  took  it  as  his  own 
programme,  the  execution  of  which  he  expected 
from  Dr.  Vladan's  Cabinet.  Putting,  however,  aside 
that  formal  discrepancy  with  the  constitutional 
theory,  the  autograph  letter,  addressed  by  King 
Alexander  to  Dr.  Vladan,  is  one  of  the  best  proofs 
that  the  young  King  was  gifted  with  great  political 
ability  and  true  statesmanship. 
I  give  its  full  text  here — 

"  MY  DEAR  MR.  VLADAN  GEORGEVICH, — The 
events  which  have  happened  lately  in  the  East,  and 
the  unmistakable  determination  of  Europe  to  keep 
the  general  peace,  have  created  for  Servia  the 
possibility  and  the  duty  to  strengthen  herself 
financially,  economically,  as  well  as  her  military 
position.  This  period  of  assured  peace  in  Europe 
ought  to  be  utilised  by  Servia  to  end  the  fruitless 

Clitical  struggle  among  parties,  in  which  our  country 
s  lost  so  much  precious  time,  which  otherwise 
could  have   been   used   for   political  and  national 


THE  REGIME  OF  "WORK  AND  ORDER"     99 

progress.  We  ought  to  take  advantage  of  this 
period  of  peace  to  secure  for  our  country  order 
and  lawfulness,  by  a  conscientious,  and,  for  all 
and  everyone,  impartial  administration.  By  an 
irreproachable  justice,  we  must  prove  that  the  law 
is  always  the  most  exalted  power  in  Servia.  To 
that  we  ought  to  add  the  most  scrupulous  per- 
formance of  all  the  engagements  of  our  Government, 
a  new  law  concerning  the  State  Service,  and  such 
a  reform  of  our  national  education  that  young  men 
who  finish  the  schools  must  not  look  exclusively 
to  the  State  Service  to  gain  a  livelihood. 

"  Through  earnest  work  in  the  consolidation  of 
Servia,  we  will  be  able  to  make  of  our  country 
a  healthy,  progressive  State,  a  safe  and  strong 
support  for  the  order  and  peace  in  the  Balkan 
Peninsula,  a  State  on  which  Europe,  in  her  pursuit 
of  high  objects  of  civilisation,  could  rely.  Acting 
in  this  way,  we  will  gain  for  Servia  the  friendship 
of  all  the  European  Powers,  and  strengthen  further 
the  friendships  which  we  have  already  won.  At 
the  same  time  we  would  then  prove  to  the  world 
that  without  Servia's  consent  nothing  could  be 
decided  affecting  her  interests. 

"  Such  work  will  contribute  materially  to  quiet 
down  political  passions.  To  attain  this  object  is 
absolutely  necessary,  because  otherwise  the  question 
of  a  new  Constitution  could  not  be  solved  naturally, 
but  only  partially,  which  would  be  dangerous  for 
the  vital  interests  of  the  people. 

"  'Servia  above  everything  else.'  A  strong,  and 
by  the  world  a  well-respected  Servia  was  the  ideal 
of  my  predecessors ;  it  is  also  one  to  which  I  will 
consecrate  my  life. 

"  To  be  able  to  work  more  successfully  at  this, 
my  life -task,  I  address  myself  to  your  proven 


100  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

patriotism,  and  your  fidelity  to  the  throne,  and 
confide  to  you  the  difficult  but  honourable  mission 
to  form  a  new  Government,  which  shares  my  above- 
explained  convictions.  The  object  which  my  new 
Government  will  have  to  accomplish  is  so  difficult, 
that  no  human  power  could  attain  it,  without  the 
necessary  time,  and  without  the  assurance  of  the 
stability  in  the  work  of  the  State.  I  assure  my 
new  Government  of  that  stability,  and  of  the  period 
necessary  for  the  desired  success." 

Dr.  Vladan — himself,  as  I  have  said,  a  man  of 
high  culture,  great  abilities,  and  the  most  remark- 
able energy — had  in  his  Cabinet  many  members 
of  experience  and  acknowledged  abilities.  Without 
delay  they  began  to  work  at  the  reorganisation  of 
the  national  finances,  production,  and  education. 
And  although  they  had  to  contend  with  immense 
difficulties,  thrown  in  their  path  by  Russia,  they 
obtained  very  considerable  success. 

King  Milan,  appointed  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  Army,  took  in  hand  the  reorganisation  of  the 
Servian  military  forces.  All  the  foreign  military 
attache's  were  unanimous  in  praising  the  progress 
which  the  Servian  Army,  under  his  guidance,  made 
in  two  years.  He  gained  great  popularity  among 
the  officers.  If  he  had  chosen  he  might  any  day, 
without  the  slightest  difficulty,  have  superseded  his 
son  on  the  throne.  But  he  rejoiced  to  give  an 
example  of  devotion  and  loyalty  to  the  young  King. 
He  never  mentioned  his  son  without  saying,  "  My 
exalted  son,  His  Majesty  the  King."  He  liked  to 
show  publicly  on  every  occasion  his  great  respect 


THE  REGIME  OF  "WORK  AND  ORDER"    101 


for  him.     He  and  Dr.  Vladan  thought  ,tS^  were 
working  to   strengthen   the   monarchical  principle-,., 
among  the  people.     They  succeeded  "iir  that  :  btjbcft  'Jji 
but  partially,  and  at  the  same  time  they  only  aroused 
in  the  young  King  an  exaggerated  idea  of  his  own 
importance  and  power.    Instead  of  working  together 
to  inspire  him  with  the  desire  to  act  as  a  constitu- 
tional King,  and  to  educate  him  for  such  a  position, 
they  —  probably    unintentionally  —  deepened    and 
developed  in  him  autocratic  tendencies.     Especially 
my  friend  Dr.  Vladan  sinned  terribly  in  that  respect. 
Poor  fellow,  no  one  suffered  more  later  on  from  the 
results  of  the  political  education  which  he,  during 
his  regime  of  "Work  and   Order,"  gave  to  that 
already  demoralised  enfant  terrible  on  the  throne. 
I  always  thought  that  a  practice,  introduced  by  Dr. 
Vladan,    must    have    especially   deplorable   conse- 
quences, namely,  when  the  Government  had  any 
difficulty    in    passing    their    measures    before   the 
legislative  body,  Dr.  Vladan  would  ask  the  King  to 
call  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Skupshtina 
—  not  rarely  the  entire  Skupshtina  —  to  the  Palace, 
and  to  ask  them  to  sacrifice  their  personal  con- 
victions and   vote   the    Government   measures   to 
please  him.     Both  the   King  and  the  Skupshtina 
were  demoralised  by  such  proceedings.     The  young 
King,   always   successful   whenever   he  wished    to 
have  his   own  way  with  his  Government  and  with 
the  Skupshtina,  concluded  that  there  was  nothing 
he  could  not  get  from  them  if  he  only  insisted  on 
it.      The    Skupshtina,    yielding    so    often   to   the 


102  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

"  charming  pressure  "  (douce  violence)  of  the  eloquent 
young  King,  and,  invited  so  frequently  to  sacrifice 
itself  in  the  service  of  "  the  Monarchical  Principle," 
lost  its  independence,  the  respect  which  it  enjoyed 
before  in  the  country,  and  even  its  own  self-respect. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  the  complete  harmony  between  the  King,  his 
Government,  and  the  Skupshtina,  really  established 
perfect  order  in  the  country,  and  enabled  it  to  make 
considerable  progress  in  almost  every  direction  of 
public  life. 

This  happy  state  of  things  did  not  last  long. 

Its  first  rude  interruption  was  by  the  so-called 
"St.  Johns  Days  Attempt"  on  the  life  of  King 
Milan  (June  24th  (July  6th)  1899),  and  its  end  by 
the  marriage  of  King  Alexander  with  Mme.  Draga 
Mashin. 

I  have  previously  stated  what  were  the  relations 
between  Russia  and  Servia  during  the  nineteenth 
century.  I  have  to  add  here  a  few  particulars 
relating  especially  to  the  regime  of  "Work  and 
Order." 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1897,  an  important 
political  arrangement  was  made  between  Russia  and 
Austro-Hungary  concerning  the  Balkan  Peninsula. 
The  text  of  that  arrangement  has  never  been 
published,  and  therefore,  outside  the  Russian  and 
Austro- Hungarian  Ministers  who  made  it,  nobody 
knows  positively  its  stipulations.  However,  in 
diplomatic  circles  the  general  impression  was  that 
there  were  only  two  stipulations :  one  to  keep  up 


THE  REGIME  OF  "WORK  AND  ORDER"     103 

the  status  quo  in  the  Balkans ;  and  the  other  one, 
that  neither  Austro- Hungary  nor  Russia  should 
interfere  with  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Balkan 
States. 

The  return  of  King  Milan  to  Servia  seriously 
alarmed  not  only  the  Panslavonic,  but  also  Official 
Russia.  Non  -  official  Panslavonic  Russia  feared 
that  Milan,  the  personification  of  anti-Panslavonism, 
would  try  naturally  to  displace  Panslavonic  ideals 
by  exclusively  Servian  ideals — instead  of  preparing 
the  Servians  for  a  union  with  Russia  he  would 
concentrate  their  energy  to  the  realisation  of  what 
he  called  "the  Servian  idea,"  namely,  the  formation 
of  a  great,  strong,  and  really  independent  Servian 
Empire.  Official  Russia  knew  that  the  sympathies 
of  King  Milan  were  writh  Austro- Hungary,  and  his 
antipathies  with  Russia.  They  feared  that  he  would 
be  the  willing  tool  of  Austro- Hungary,  her  willing 
agent  in  everything  that  could  disturb  Russian 
policy  in  the  Balkans.  Indeed,  Official  Russia 
suspected  for  some  time  that  it  was  Austro- Hungary 
who  brought  about  the  return  of  King  Milan  to 
Servia.  I  was  told  that  the  Russian  Foreign 
Minister  remonstrated  in  a  friendly  spirit  with  Count 
Goluchowsky,  and  wanted  the  Austro- Hungarian 
Government  to  use  its  reputed  influence  with  King 
Milan  to  leave  Servia,  otherwise  his  sojourn  in 
Servia  would  practically  mean  the  preponderance 
of  the  Austro- Hungarian  influence  there,  which 
would  be  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  their  arrangement. 
Count  Goluchowsky  denied  that  Austro- Hungary 


104  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

had  anything  to  do  with  the  return  of  King  Milan 
to  Servia,  and  that  her  eventual  attempt  to  persuade 
him  to  leave  the  country  would  just  constitute  the 
interference  in  the  internal  affairs  of  an  independent 
Balkan  Kingdom  which  they  both  promised  not  to  do. 

Austrian  co-operation  for  the  amicable  removal 
of  Milan  from  Servia  having  been  denied  her, 
Russia  immediately  organised  the  campaign  against 
Milan.  As  King  Alexander  and  the  Government 
of  "Work  and  Order"  stuck  faithfully  to  King 
Milan,  as  indeed  the  new  regime  of  Dr.  Vladan 
had  been  established  on  the  supposition  that  King 
Milan  remained  in  the  country,  and  at  the  head  of 
the  army,  the  Russian  campaign  was  directed,  not 
only  against  King  Milan,  but  against  King 
Alexander  and  his  Government  too. 

In  every  important  capital  of  Europe,  the  Russians 
had  organised  special  bureaus,  whose  exclusive 
task  was  to  spread  and  publish  in  the  papers  all 
sorts  of  disparaging  statements  about  Milan.  Such 
a  bureau  was  established  in  London,  too,  at  the 
head  of  which  a  Frenchman,  decorated  with  a 
high  Russian  Order,  was  placed,  having  a  Polish 
Jew  journalist,  who  wrote  English  well,  as  his 
assistant.  Secret  agents,  male  and  female,  all 
over  the  world,  had  got  orders  to  malign  King 
Milan  on  every  occasion.  I  knew  personally  of 
a  Russian  Princess  who  used  to  give  luncheon 
and  dinner  parties  at  the  sumptuous  and  costly 
Claridge's  Hotel,  entertaining  her  English  guests 
with  all  sorts  of  stories — some  perhaps  true,  but 


THE  REGIME  OF  "WORK  AND  ORDER"     105 

many  that  I   heard   her   tell    certainly  invented — 
about  the  Russian  Mte  noire,  Milan  of  Servia. 

In  Servia  the  "  Asiatic  Department,"  to  which 
the  Russian  management  of  Milan  and  his  country 
belonged,  did  not  need  special  agents.  The  Radicals 
of  Servia,  always  intensely  Russophil,  many  of  them 
personally  devoted  to  the  Pretender,  most  of  them 
opposed  to  Milan  for  his  "  Austrophilism,"  were 
only  too  eager  to  serve  Russia.  Through  them 
the  agitation  in  Servia  against  Milan,  and,  indeed, 
against  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty,  was  organised 
and  nourished.  But  the  cause  of  the  dynasty  of 
"  Order  and  Work  "  was  defended  by  three  men — 
probably  the  ablest  in  all  Servia,  namely,  Milan, 
Alexander,  and  Dr.  Vladan,  who,  moreover,  had 
the  army  and  the  State  power  in  their  hands.  No 
wonder  that  the  agitation,  started  and  organised 
by  the  Russians,  and  carried  on  in  Servia  by  the 
partisans  of  Peter  Karageorgevich  and  by  the 
bond  fide  Russophil  Radicals,  did  not  succeed  in 
the  least.  The  advantages  of  order  had  been  soon 
felt  in  the  increased  prosperity  throughout  the 
country.  The  great  mass  of  the  peasantry  did  not 
conceal  its  satisfaction.  Even  the  Eastern  districts 
(Krayina,  Zaechar,  Knyazevatz),  which  of  old  were 
always  Radical  Russophil  and  pro-Karageorgevich, 
received  King  Alexander  and  his  father  in  1899 
with  great  cordiality  and  loyalty. 

One  of  the  reasons  why  the  anti-dynastic 
agitation  had  no  success  was  in  the  old  methods 
of  the  Russian  and  Radical  tactics.  They  spread 


106  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

again  lies  and  calumnies,  which  they  had  used 
during  the  last  eighteen  years,  and  of  the  falseness 
of  which  the  people  of  Servia  had  ample  time  to 
assure  themselves.  They  again  asserted  that  King 
Milan  had  sold  Servia  to  Austria  for  hard  cash, 
that  he  was  eating  up  the  millions  collected  from 
the  people  in  taxes  and  other  public  imports,  using 
them  to  pay  off  his  immense  debts,  contracted  in 
Paris  in  gambling,  and  in  keeping  his  mistresses  in 
a  sumptuous  style ;  that  he  had  returned  to  Servia 
to  fulfil  his  engagement  towards  the  Roman 
Catholic  Pope  to  turn  the  Servians  from  orthodoxy, 
and  convert  them  by  force  into  Roman  Catholics ; 
that  he  had  concluded  a  Military  Convention  with 
Austria,  with  the  object  of  destroying  the  power  of 
Russia,  that  he  might  afterwards,  when  Russia 
was  no  longer  in  a  position  to  protect  Servia, 
place  his  country  under  Austrian  rule.  The  only 
new  variation  in  these  old  and  exploded  calumnies 
was :  That  Milan's  programme  was  to  get  first  the 
army  under  his  control  (which  had  been  already 
accomplished),  marry  his  mistress,  Arthemise,  the 
divorced  wife  of  his  former  private  secretary, 
Milan  Christich,  legalise  the  position  of  the 
illegitimate  boy  whom  he  had  by  Arthemise,  then 
put  his  own  son  King  Alexander  into  an  asylum, 
or  eventually  poison  him,  ascend  the  throne  for 
the  second  time,  and  declare  Arthemise's  son  the 
heir-presumptive.  This  version  made  some  impres- 
sion, because  it  looked  so  plausible,  although  it  had 
not  the  slightest  foundation  in  fact. 


THE  REGIME  OF  "WORK  AND  ORDER"    107 

Another  reason  for  the  want  of  success  was 
in  the  altogether  mistaken  notion  of  the  Russian 
Government  on  the  true  situation  in  Servia.  The 
reports  of  their  agents  regarding  the  alleged 
dissatisfaction  in  Servia  were  too  exaggerated. 
According  to  them,  nothing  was  needed  but  a 
visible  proof  that  the  Almighty  Tzar  of  all  the 
Russias  was  against  the  Obrenovich  and  for 
Karageorgevich,  and  the  people  would  rise  at 
once,  drive  away  Alexander  and  Milan,  and  recall 
Karageorgevich.  The  Tzar  made  one  of  those 
demonstrations  by  placing  most  graciously  the 
young  sons  of  Prince  Peter  Karageorgevich  in 
the  officers'  school  for  nobility  in  St.  Petersburg. 
Before  that,  Mr.  Jeadovsky  was  sent  as  the  Russian 
Minister  to  Belgrade  on  a  special  mission,  to  show 
the  people  of  Servia  that  the  Tzar  did  not  care 
for  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty,  that  he  hated  and 
despised  Milan,  and  that  he  would  not  take  any 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  Servia  so  long  as  Milan 
remained  in  that  unhappy  country.  Jeadovsky  did 
not  hesitate  to  denounce  and  calumniate  King 
Milan  to  every  Servian  politician  or  citizen  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact,  calling  him  the  most 
opprobrious  names.  He  went  even  so  far  as  to 
insult  King  Milan,  taking  no  notice  of  him  when 
they  met  in  society,  and  refusing  to  salute  him  in 
the  streets  of  Belgrade.  He  expected  that  such 
conduct  would  prove  to  the  Servians  that  Milan 
was  a  man  of  no  consequence  to  Russia,  that  he 
was  hated  by  the  Tzar,  and  that  they  would  do  well 


108  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

to  drive  him  away.  But  his  conduct  had  quite  the 
opposite  effect.  The  people  in  general,  and  the 
higher  class  of  Belgrade  citizens,  thought  that  an 
insult  to  the  King's  father  meant  an  insult  to  the 
King,  and  to  insult  the  King  of  Servia  was  to 
insult  the  people  of  Servia.  Belgrade  society 
closed  its  doors  against  Mr.  Jeadovsky.  Of  course, 
this  did  not  matter  much  to  him.  But  when,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  national  festival  (February  22, 
1899),  all  the  foreign  Ministers,  and  even  Mr. 
Jeadovsky 's  two  secretaries,  had  been  invited  to 
the  diplomatic  dinner  in  the  Palace,  with  the  sole 
exception  of  Mr.  Jeadovsky  himself,  then  it  was 
evident  that  he  could  not  any  longer  remain  in 
Servia.  The  Russian  Government  recalled  Mr. 
Jeadovsky. 


CHAPTER   XI 

ATTEMPT   ON   THE    LIFE   OF    KING   MILAN 

DR.  VLADAN  had  published  copies  of  several  reports, 
which  Mr.  Jeadovsky,  as  the  Russian  Minister  to 
Servia,  sent  from  Belgrade  to  his  chief,  the  Russian 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Count  Mouraviev. 
I  have  reason  to  know  that  there  can  be  no  doubt 
whatever  that  those  are  accurate  copies  of  the 
originals. 

They  are  simply  full  of  stereotyped  attacks 
on  King  Milan.  They  prove  that  Mr.  Jeadovsky 
did  not  make  independent  observations  of  the  facts 
by  which  he  was  surrounded  in  Belgrade,  but 
thought  it  sufficient  to  echo  all  sorts  of  inventions, 
lies,  and  calumnies  against  King  Milan,  which 
specially  paid  journalists  were  instructed  to  spread 
in  the  European  Press. 

Not  so  much  as  a  specimen  of  the  style  and 
character  of  this  Russian  diplomatist's  despatches, 
but  as  an  illustration  of  his  recklessness  and  daring, 
I  will  quote  here  a  passage  from  his  despatch  to 
Count  Mouraviev,  written  on  July  21,  1898 — 

"  The  participation  of  King  Milan  in  the 
Government,  and  his  boundless  influence  on  his 


109 


110  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

weak-headed  son,  does  not  terrify  me  so  much, 
because  of  his  political  convictions  and  his  devotion 
to  Austria,  but  because  he  lacks  entirely  all  moral 
principle  or  simple  honesty.  He  does  not  hesitate 
to  exhibit  ostentatiously  this  moral  deficiency  in 
the  public  and  private  relations  of  his  life.  This 
absence  of  elementary  honesty  permits  us  to  say 
that  he  is  ready,  for  the  sake  of  his  private  interest, 
to  throw  Servia  again  into  the  abyss,  and  if  a  good 
opportunity  presents  itself,  to  sell  Servia  to  anyone, 
leaving  us  again  to  re-purchase  her  at  a  very  high 
price.  Consequently,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  absolutely 
necessary  to  save  Servia ;  it  is  necessary  in  our 
own  interest  that  this  evil  should  as  soon  as  possible 
be  cut  down  (in  the  Russian  'presyetch ')."  See 
Dr.  Vladan's  End  of  a  Dynasty,  p.  215. 

What  was  in  the  mind  of  the  Tzar's  repre- 
sentative in  Belgrade,  when  he  thought  it  absolutely 
necessary  that  "  this  evil  [namely,  King  Milan]  should 
as  soon  as  possible  be  cut  down  "  ?  For  the  sake 
of  human  nature,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  honour  of 
the  "Orthodox,  Holy  Russia,"  let  us  hope  that 
that  unfortunate  phrase  was  not  meant  to  mean 
what  subsequent  events  led  most  people  to  believe 
it  did  mean. 

On  the  7th  of  November  1898,  the  Russian 
newspapers  Novoye  Vremya  and  Novosti  brought 
news  that  reports  were  current  that  an  attempt  on 
the  life  of  King  Milan  had  been  committed.  Was 
that  a  bond  jide  false  report  ?  or  was  it  an  indiscreet 
echo  of  a  certain  resolution  made  in  one  or  other  of 


ATTEMPT  ON  THE  LIFE  OF  KING  MILAN  111 

the  Panslavonic  circles,  with  which  those  papers 
were  in  touch  ? 

On  the  3rd  of  December  1898,  the  Servian 
newspaper  Srbobran,  which  is  published  in  Agram 
(Croatia),  and  was  well  known  to  be  in  touch  with 
official  and  semi-official  circles  in  St.  Petersburg, 
published  an  article  entitled  "The  Rupture  between 
Russia  and  Obrenovich,"  in  which  it  was  said  : 
"  The  present  situation  in  Servia  is  very  similar  to 
one  which  prevailed  in  Bulgaria  under  Stambulov, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  will  be  ended  in  the 
same  way."  As  it  is  well  known,  Stambulov's 
anti- Russian  regime  in  Bulgaria  was  ended  by  the 
assassination  of  Stambulov  by  a  Russian  hireling. 
The  paper  clearly  announced  that  the  anti- Russian 
Milan  was  to  finish  like  the  anti-Russian  Stambulov. 

The  Russian  paper  Le  Nord,  which  appears  in 
the  French  language  in  Paris,  published  on  the 
9th  (2ist)  February  1899,  an  alleged  proclamation 
of  the  anti-dynastic  Committee  of  the  Servian 
Radical  Party,  "  which  warned  the  European 
capitalists  not  to  lend  money  to  Servia  under 
Milan's  regime,  and  refused  responsibility  for  the 
crisis  which,  after  the  fall  of  Milan,  would  swallow 
all  those  who  assisted  him."  Was  it  not  strange 
that  an  organ  of  the  Russian  Foreign  Office — and 
Le  Nord  was  well  known  to  be  such  an  organ — 
should  announce  publicly  that  the  fall  of  Milan  was 
expected  ? 

The  above-mentioned  paper  Srbobran,  in  its 
issue  of  the  25th  February  1899,  commenting  on 


112  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

the  non-invitation  of  Jeadovsky  to  the  diplomatic 
dinner  at  the  Palace  on  the  22nd  of  that  month, 
wrote  :  "  Both  Milan  and  his  son  will  pay  dearly 
for  the  insult  to  Jeadovsky.  The  departure  of  the 
Russian  Minister  from  Servia  will  convince  the 
people  of  Servia  that  they  ought  to  destroy  a 
regime  which  dares  to  provoke  Russia." 

All  these  extracts  from  the  papers,  well  known 
to  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  Russian  Government 
(and  which  I  take  .from  Dr.  Vladan's  book),  show 
only  the  failure  of  the  Russian  Government  to 
remove  King  Milan  from  Servia.  The  friends  of 
King  Milan,  who  knew  that  the  Russian  policy 
had  no  scrupulosity  in  choosing  her  methods  and 
weapons  to  attain  her  objects,  were  earnestly 
anxious  about  his  safety,  especially  since  rumours 
were  spread  that  the  murderer  of  Stambulov,  who 
freely  moved  in  Sofia,  visiting  coffee-houses  and 
places  of  amusement,  openly  boasted  that  he  had 
obtained  the  mission  to  assassinate  King  Milan. 

One  day  in  the  month  of  May  the  Servian 
Government  received  from  Sofia  a  letter  announc- 
ing that  very  soon  a  great  crime  would  be  committed 
in  Belgrade,  of  which  only  the  writer  and  two  other 
persons  had  any  knowledge.  The  writer  was  a 
certain  Stephen,  lately  a  servant  in  the  Russian 
Legation  in  Belgrade,  who  was  dismissed  "  because 
he  was  caught  in  stealing,"  as  Colonel  Taube,  the 
Russian  Military  Agent,  explained.  The  Servian 
Government  offered  to  bring  the  man  before  the 
Court  of  Justice  to  be  punished,  if  it  should  be 


ATTEMPT  ON  THE  LIFE  OF  KING  MILAN  113 

proved  that  he  had  committed  a  theft.  But  Colonel 
Taube  declined  to  prosecute  him.  He  only  desired 
that  he  should  be  expelled  from  Servia  to  Bulgaria, 
which  was  done  by  the  Servian  Government.  Now 
his  letter  from  Sofia,  announcing  that  a  crime  was 
shortly  to  be  committed  in  Belgrade,  could  not 
be,  and  was  not,  taken  seriously  by  the  Servian 
Government. 

On  the  2ist  June  (Old  Style)  1899,  King 
Milan,  accompanied  by  his  Aide-de-Camp,  Lukich, 
left  shortly  after  6  o'clock  in  the  evening  the 
Commander-in-Chiefs  offices  in  the  Citadel  of 
Belgrade,  driving  in  an  open  victoria  to  the  Palace. 
Ten  minutes  later  his  carriage  was  just  turning  a 
corner  to  enter  the  principal  street  (Prince  Michael's 
Street)  leading  from  the  Kalimegdan  Park  in  front 
of  the  fortress,  to  the  Palace,  when  a  young  man, 
standing  in  front  of  the  corner  house,  a  hotel  with 
a  coffee-house,  fired  a  revolver  at  the  King.  After 
the  first  shot  he  ran  after  the  carriage  and  fired 
three  more  shots.  One  bullet  grazed  King  Milan's 
left  shoulder,  without  causing  a  serious  wound  ;  but 
his  Aide-de-Camp,  Lukich,  received  a  bullet  in  his 
shoulder. 

In  the  confusion  the  would-be  murderer  ran 
down  the  sloping  street  to  the  shore  of  the  Sava, 
and  sprang  into  that  river,  but  was  captured  and 
brought  to  the  Prefecture.  At  the  first  examination 
by  the  Prefect,  the  prisoner  declared  that  his  name 
was  Knezevich,  that  he  was  born  in  Bosnia,  and 
his  intention  was  to  kill  King  Milan ;  his  co-worker 
8 


114  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

was  the  Colonel  on  the  retired  list,  Vlayko  Nicolich, 
and  he  obtained  from  the  Prefect  of  Shabatz  a  pass 
for  Roumania.  In  Bucharest  he  went  to  a  certain 
house,  where  he  met  a  gentleman,  who  spoke 
Servian,  but  with  the  Russian  accent ;  and  that 
gentleman,  whose  name  he  did  not  know,  showed 
him  a  big  bag  of  gold,  and  promised  to  give  it  to 
him  if  he  killed  King  Milan.  He  gave  him  "on 
account"  500  napoleondors  (^400),  with  which 
money  he  came  to  Belgrade,  some  eight  days  ago, 
to  watch  for  an  occasion  to  kill  King  Milan.  He 
added  that  the  gentleman  accompanied  him  from 
Bucharest  to  Belgrade,  and  then  recrossed  the 
river  to  the  Hungarian  town,  Zimony. 

Two  weeks  later  the  house  in  which  the  Chief 
of  the  Russian  Secret  Police  for  Servia,  Bulgaria, 
and  Roumania  lived  in  Bucharest,  was  photo- 
graphed, and  the  photograph  shown  to  the  would- 
be  assassin,  Knezevich,  who  at  once  and  before 
several  witnesses  recognised  it  as  the  house  to 
which  he  went  in  Bucharest,  and  in  which  he  met 
the  man  with  the  bag  of  gold.  The  photograph 
was  certified  by  the  Roumanian  authorities  to  be 
the  house  in  which  the  Russian  Colonel  M.  lived. 

The  Prefect  of  Belgrade,  Mr.  Rista  Bademlich, 
who  made  the  first  interrogatories  with  the  would- 
be  assassin  Knezevich,  in  a  private  letter  to  Dr. 
Vladan,  dated  July  7th  (i9th)  1899,  expressed  his 
conviction  that  two  Russian  Colonels  in  official 
positions  were  at  the  head  of  the  conspiracy  to 
murder  King  Milan.  The  Prefect  mentioned  them 


ATTEMPT  ON  THE  LIFE  OF  KING  MILAN  115 

by  name,  which  names  can  be  seen  in  Dr.  Vladan's 
book,  The  End  of  a  Dynasty,  p.  366. 

The  same  authority  asserts  that  a  foreign 
minister  in  Bucharest,  after  the  full  investigation 
of  the  matter,  reported  to  his  Government  that  at 
the  head  of  the  conspiracy  to  murder  King  Milan 
were  two  Russian  Colonels,  whom  he  mentioned 
by  name. 

As  King  Milan  escaped  unhurt,  the  Russian 
Press-agents  all  over  Europe,  as  well  as  in  Servia, 
received  instructions  to  inform  the  Press,  that  the 
attempt  was  nothing  but  a  fraud,  that  King  Milan 
himself  had  arranged  this  apparent  conspiracy,  and 
hired  the  soi-disant  assassin  ;  that,  in  fact,  he  made 
an  attempt  against  himself,  to  gain  an  opportunity 
to  denounce  Russia,  and  imprison  her  devoted 
friends,  the  leaders  of  the  Servian  Radicals ! 

Unfortunately,  King  Alexander  and  King  Milan 
played  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies.  They 
committed  a  very  grave  fault  by  insisting  that  the 
Government  should  place  Belgrade  under  martial 
law,  arrest  at  once  the  members  of  the  executive  of 
the  Radical  Party,  and  place  them  together  with 
Knezevich,  as  his  instigators,  before  a  Court- 
Martial.  The  Cabinet,  under  the  leadership  of 
Mr.  Vukashin  (in  the  absence  of  Dr.  Vladan,  who 
was  taking  the  waters  at  Marienbad),  after  some 
show  of  resistance  yielded  to  the  pressure  of  both 
Kings.  The  Constitution  of  the  year  1869,  then 
in  operation,  allowed  them  to  do  so  legally ;  but 
both  morally  and  politically  to  bring  the  personal 


116  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

enemies  of  King  Milan  before  a  Court- Martial  was 
a  fatal  mistake. 

This  extraordinary  measure  was  disapproved  by 
every  right-thinking  and  independent  man  in  Servia. 
It  aroused  the  public  opinion  of  Europe  against  the 
Servian  Government  and  Servia.  It  was  one  of 
the  misdeeds  which  told  against  King  Alexander 
heavily.  I  consider  it,  and  I  deplore  it,  as  one  of 
the  gravest  mistakes  which  King  Milan  ever  made. 

The  papers  seized  in  the  houses  of  the  arrested 
leaders  of  the  Radicals  showed  undoubtedly  they 
met  sometimes  to  discuss  the  political  situation  of 
the  country,  and  that  they  in  their  confidential 
letters  often  expressed  the  desire,  that  the  masterful 
bearing  of  King  Milan  should  in  some  way  or  other 
be  stopped,  and  even  that  they  would  be  glad  to 
see  a  change  of  dynasty ;  but  there  was  no  legal 
proof  forthcoming  that  they  had  any  connection 
with  Knezevich's  attempt  on  the  life  of  King 
Milan.  The  Court-Martial,  however,  found  that 
the  attempt  had  some  connection  with  the  secret 
meetings  and  activity  of  the  Radical  leaders,  and 
pronounced  very  severe  sentences  against  them. 
Fortunately,  the  only  man  sentenced  to  death,  and 
whose  sentence  was  carried  out,  was  Knezevich, 
who  actually  tried  to  kill  King  Milan. 

In  connection  with  the  attempt  on  King  Milan's 
life,  and  with  the  proclamation  of  the  Court- 
Martial  and  condemnation  of  the  Radical  leaders, 
there  exists  a  terrible  insinuation. 

It    was    made    by    King    Milan,    and    King 


ATTEMPT  ON  THE  LIFE  OF  KING  MILAN  117 

Alexander's  Premier  published  it.  Dr.  Vladan 
not  only  published  it,  but  in  reporting  the  events, 
and  especially  the  conversations  which  he  himself 
or  his  locum  tenens,  Mr.  Vukashin  Petrovich,  had 
with  King  Alexander  at  the  time  of  the  attempt 
and  during  the  Court-Martial,  he  has  drawn  special 
attention  to  every  action  and  every  word  of  King 
Alexander  which  could  give  colour  to  the  horrible 
accusation. 

Not  long  before  his  death,  King  Milan  told  Dr. 
Vladan  that  he  had  reason  to  believe  that  the 
attempt  on  his  life  in  June  1899  was  instigated 
and  organised  by  his  own  son  Alexander,  and  his 
mistress,  Draga  Mashin,  assisted  by  Russia ! 

King  Milan  was  an  exceedingly  intelligent  man, 
a  very  able  controversialist,  and  a  great  casuist. 
Trained  to  be  suspicious  of  everybody  and  of 
everything,  and  surrounded  by  men  who  often 
wished  to  exploit  his  suspiciousness,  it  is  not  extra- 
ordinary that  sometimes  he  was  led  to  exaggerate. 
If  he  had  not  been  a  King,  he  would  have  been  a 
most  able  detective.  Not  rarely  a  small  detail, 
which  to  all  others  would  seem  perfectly  meaning- 
less, to  him  was  the  starting  point  for  the  construc- 
tion of  most  remarkable  theories. 

To  illustrate  this  I  will  mention  a  case  which 
concerned  me  personally.  A  great  lover  of 
flowers,  I  spoke  on  one  occasion  in  1886  with 
Queen  Nathalie,  in  King  Milan's  presence,  on 
roses.  The  Queen  thereupon  told  Sasha  to  go 
and  bring  from  her  room  three  roses,  and  give 


118  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

them  to  me.     A  few  weeks  after  that  I  read  in 
a    public    sitting    of    our    Academy    a    historical 
sketch  of   Princess    Helene    Balsha,    who,   in    the 
beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  as  Regent  for 
her  young   boy,    reversed   the  policy  of  her  late 
husband    towards    the    republic    of    Venice,    and 
tried  to  reconquer  the  towns  which  her  husband 
had   ceded    to    the    Doge.     At   the   time   of  my 
reading    that    paper    King    Milan     was    abroad. 
On    his   return   to    Belgrade    I    noticed    that    he 
treated  me  very  coldly.     As  this  lasted  for  some 
time,  I  asked  him  one  day  what  it  meant     "As 
you  want  to  know  what   I   have  against   you,    I 
will    tell    it    you    frankly,"    began     King    Milan, 
evidently  painfully  agitated.      "  I   have  reason  to 
believe     that    you    are    in    conspiracy    with    the 
Queen   and  her  friends  to  force  me    to   abdicate 
and  to  proclaim  her  the  Regent.     My  eyes  were 
opened   for  the  first   time   when   she   told   Sasha 
to   bring   from   her   room  those  three  roses,   and 
give   them    to   you.       Those   three   roses   meant, 
no   doubt,    the   three    members   of  the    Regency, 
and    there    is    a    certain    meaning    even    in    the 
peculiar  circumstance  that  Sasha,  at  her  bidding, 
should  place  in   your  hands    the   emblem    of  the 
Regency!       If   I    was   willing    to    disbelieve    the 
natural  interpretation  of  the  incident,  your  paper 
on  Helene   Balsha  dispelled  every  doubt   in  me. 
The    whole    of    your    description    of    Helene    is 
nothing     but     a     glorification    of    Nathalie,    the 
modern  Helene  Balsha!     Practically  your  lecture 


ATTEMFI  ON  THE  LIFE  OF  KING  MILAN  119 

before  the  Academy  was  nothing  but  the  recom- 
mendation to  the  people  to  reconcile  themselves 
with  the  Regency  of  Nathalie,  who  is  known  to 
hate  my  policy,  as  Helene  Balsha  disapproved  of 
the  policy  of  her  husband ! "  The  construction 
of  such  a  theory  was  quite  plausible.  There 
were  certainly  some  points  of  similarity  between 
the  situation  of  Helene  Balsha  and  the  situation 
of  Queen  Nathalie.  Yet,  at  the  same  time,  neither 
Queen  Nathalie  conspired  to  become  the  Regent 
for  her  son,  nor  had  I  ever  thought,  even  for  a 
moment,  of  such  a  contingency. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  King  Alexander  treated 
his  father  with  great  harshness,  with  monstrous 
callousness ;  but  the  accusation  that  he  deliberately 
and  in  cold  blood  planned  the  assassination  of  his 
father,  in  order  to  remove  the  greatest  obstacle 
to  his  marrying  his  mistress,  cannot  be  accepted 
without  positive  and  convincing  proofs.  Such 
proofs  do  not  exist. 

I  wish  also  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact 
that  King  Milan,  with  all  his  suspiciousness  and 
detective  ingenuity,  did  not  suspect  his  son  or 
his  mistress  of  any  foul  play,  either  at  the  time 
of  the  attempt  or  a  year  afterwards.  It  was  only 
after  the  harsh  treatment  he  experienced  from 
King  Alexander  on  and  after  his  marriage  that 
his  suspicions  were  aroused. 


CHAPTER  XII 

ON  THE  EVE  OF  THE  FATAL  DEED 

IN  March  1900  I  was  transferred  from  London  to 
Constantinople  as  the  Servian  Envoy  Extraordinary 
and  Minister  Plenipotentiary. 

Passing  through  Vienna  I  went  to  pay  my 
respects  to  Count  Goluchowsky,  whose  personal 
acquaintance  I  made  in  Paris  in  1882,  and  renewed 
(1894)  it  m  Bucharest,  where  at  that  time  the  Count 
represented  Austro- Hungary,  while  I  acted  as  the 
Servian  Minister  to  the  Roumanian  Court. 

Before  leaving  Count  Goluchowsky  I  asked  his 
Excellency  if  he  had  a  message  for  King  Alexander 
and  King  Milan. 

"Yes,  certainly,"  answered  the  Count.  "Tell 
their  Majesties  that  it  is  really  most  important, 
indeed  most  urgent,  that  King  Alexander  should 
not  delay  any  longer  his  marriage.  He  is  exposed 
to  serious  personal  danger  as  long  as  he  has  no  heir 
to  the  throne.  We  wish  to  see  the  political  con- 
solidation of  Servia,  which  cannot  be  realised  while 
the  Royal  dynasty  has  only  one  representative. 
King  Alexander,  highly  intelligent  as  he  is,  seems 
to  be  perfectly  aware  that  his  first  duty  to  his 

120 


ON  THE  EVE  OF  THE  FATAL  DEED       121 

dynasty,  and  to  his  people,  is  to  marry  without  any 
further  delay.  When  I  saw  him  here  the  last  time, 
he  expressed  the  hope  and  the  wish  that  his  Majesty, 
my  august  master,  would  help  him  to  obtain  the 
hand  of  a  suitable  Princess.  You  can  tell  him  from 
me  that  not  only  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  and  the 
King  interests  himself  personally  in  his  happiness, 
but  also  the  Emperor  of  Germany  joined  our  Kaiser 
in  efforts  to  find  for  King  Alexander  a  suitable 
Princess.  But  your  King  makes  too  many  con- 
ditions and  claims.  He  says  the  Princess  must  be 
young,  beautiful,  and  lovely,  so  as  to  win  his  love ; 
further,  she  ought  to  be  politically  well  connected, 
and  at  least  have  family  relations  with  one  of  the 
first-class  Courts  of  Europe ;  further,  she  ought  to 
be  a  highly  cultured  and  gifted  woman ;  and,  last 
but  not  least,  very  wealthy.  Please  tell  the  King 
that  a  Princess  who  possesses  all  these  conditions 
could  do  better  than  marry  King  Alexander  of 
Servia  and  spend  her  life  in  Belgrade  !  Therefore, 
he  ought  to  be  satisfied  if  we  succeed  in  finding  for 
him  a  Princess  who  possesses  some  of  his  stipula- 
tions. And,  thanks  to  the  interest  which  the 
Emperor  William  takes  in  the  matter,  I  think  we 
are  in  a  position  to  recommend  to  him  one  of  the 
most  charming  and  most  cultured  Princesses  in 
Europe." 

On  my  arrival  in  Belgrade  I  was  immediately 
invited  to  dine  at  the  Palace.  After  dinner  King 
Alexander  took  his  father,  King  Milan,  his  Premier 
Dr.  Vladan,  and  myself  into  the  central  salon  of 


122  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

the  Old  Palace  to  have  a  private  talk.  I  im- 
mediately delivered  Count  Goluchowsky's  message, 
and  added  my  own  arguments  in  support  of  the 
Count's  contention  that  it  was  really  of  the  highest 
importance  that  the  King  should  speedily  be 
married. 

Both  King  Milan  and  the  Premier  were  highly 
pleased  with  Count  Goluchowsky's  message.  King 
Milan  asked  me  if  the  Count  divulged  to  me  who 
the  Princess  was.  He  was  pleased  to  hear  that  he 
did  not.  "  But,  of  course,"  he  added,  "  we  know 
whom  he  meant ;  and  I  think  Sasha  admits  that 
according  to  her  photograph  she  must  be  a  lovely 
young  woman." 

"  According  to  her  photograph,  certainly,"  re- 
peated King  Alexander,  who  until  that  moment 
had  been  silent,  absorbed  in  deep  thought,  drinking 
his  mocha  and  smoking  a  cigarette.  "  Certainly  ; 
but  you  know  I  cannot  decide  before  I  have  seen 
her  personally.  You  do  not  know,  Mijatovich,  but 
I  may  tell  you,  that  Vladan  has  made  me  an  ulti- 
matum, declaring  that  he  will  resign  his  post  and 
leave  me  if  I  do  not  marry  this  year.  I  promised 
him,  as  well  as  papa,  that  I  would  do  so.  And  I 
mean  to  keep  my  word." 

He  spoke  with  much  calmness,  and  with  such 
apparent  assurance  and  sincerity,  that  Dr.  Vladan 
seemed  happy.  King  Milan  (who  was  walking 
restlessly  near  the  Turkish,  low  coffee-table,  around 
which  we  sat  on  low  arm-chairs)  came  straight  to 
his  son,  and  kissed  him  tenderly.  I  felt  really 


ON  THE  EVE  OF  THE  FATAL  DEED   123 

moved,  and  was  happy  too.  I  could  not  dream 
that  the  young  King  was  only  acting  and  deceiving 
us  all  three,  as  if  we  were  innocent  babes,  or  stupid 
and  blind  idiots. 

"  But,  of  course,"  King  Alexander  continued, 
"  some  delay  is  unavoidable.  Papa  must  now  go 
first  to  take  a  cure  at  Carlsbad.  You  think  he 
looks  well,  but  in  truth  he  is  ill.  He  hardly  eats 
anything,  and  he  must  go  to  Carlsbad.  And  as 
you  see,  Dr.  Vladan  has  made  a  wreck  of  himself 
in  untiring  service  to  his  King  and  country,  and  he 
wants  to  go  to  Franzensbad.  Now,  we  three 
cannot  be  absent  from  Servia  at  the  same  time. 
Therefore,  we  have  arranged  that  papa  and  Vladan 
go  first  to  make  their  respective  cures  ;  Vladan  will 
then  make  a  trip  to  Paris  to  see  the  exhibition.  On 
his  return  to  Belgrade  I  join  papa  in  Vienna,  go 
with  him  to  Paris,  and  then  to  Germany  to  see  my 
Princess,  and,  if  God  so  wills,  give  her  the  ring ; 
and  certainly  by  the  end  of  the  year,  if  not  sooner, 
you  will  see  me  a  married  man." 

About  the  middle  of  April  1900,  the  Servian 
Minister  in  Berlin,  Mr.  Milan  Boghitchevich,  a 
relative  of  the  Obrenovich  House,  reported  to  the 
Servian  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Dr.  Vladan, 
that  on  April  i3th  he  saw  Count  Billow  on  some 
official  business  of  minor  importance,  and  that  the 
Count  on  that  occasion  mentioned  that  it  was  time 
for  the  King  of  Servia  to  marry,  as  the  Royal 
dynasty  consisted  only  of  King  Alexander  and  his 
father  King  Milan.  Mr.  Boghitchevich  reported 


124  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

further  that  he  gave  a  rather  evasive  answer,  saying 
that  from  what  he  knew  it  seemed  that  King 
Alexander  had  as  yet  no  intention  of  marrying. 
Dr.  Vladan  was  exceedingly  astonished,  and  asked 
the  Minister  to  explain  what  on  earth  was  his  reason 
for  such  an  evasive  answer.  In  his  private  letter 
to  Dr.  Vladan,  dated  Berlin,  27th  April,  1900,  Mr. 
Boghitchevich  writes — 

o 

"  These  are  my  reasons  why  I   gave  such  an 
evasive  answer  to  Count  Blilow.     Nearly  two  years 
ago  his  Majesty  the  King  instructed  me  to  make 
certain  inquiries  about  a  German  Princess,  who  is 
related  to  several    European    Courts,    and    whose 
sister    is     already    a    Queen.      The    Emperor    of 
Germany  takes  great  interest  in  her,  because  his  own 
sister  had  married  into  her  family.       Last  year  the 
Emperor  said  to  me  once,  and  to  my  wife  several 
times,  that  the  Princess  would  be  a  good  match  for 
our  King.     I  reported  it  to  his  Majesty  our  King, 
but  had  very  little  success.     When  Count  Blilow 
lately  spoke  to  me  about  the  desirability  that  our 
King  should  marry,  I  knew  that  he  had  this  same 
Princess   in    view.     Having    obtained   information 
about  the  inclinations  of  our  King  in  that  respect, 
I  dared  not  give  any  other  but  an  evasive  answer, 
as  I  had  no  instruction  to  speak  either  for  or  against 
it.     I  thought  it  wise  to  prepare  Count  Blilow  for 
the  eventuality  that  King  Alexander  might  decide 
not  to  marry  the  Princess.     The  best  proof  that  the 
King  does  not  mean  to  marry  her  is  the  fact  that 
as  yet  he  has  never  spoken  to  you  about  it,"  etc.  etc. 


ON  THE  EVE  OF  THE  FATAL  DEED   125 

This  letter  alarmed  somewhat  Dr.  Vladan. 
He  went  at  once  to  King  Alexander  with  Mr. 
Boghitchevich's  two  letters,  as  well  as  with  his 
own,  showed  them  to  the  King,  and  asked  for 
information. 

The  King  explained.  Two  years  ago  his  cousin 
Milan  Boghitchevich  bothered  him  so  much  with 
suggestions  that  he  should  marry  a  certain  German 
Princess  that,  to  get  rid  of  his  importunities,  he 
ordered  him  to  make  certain  preliminary  inquiries, 
but  nothing  more.  But  Boghitchevich  went  beyond 
his  instructions ;  and  especially  his  wife,  who  went 
even  so  far  as  to  decide  the  Emperor  to  honour — in 
view  of  the  approaching  alliance — the  concert  which 
the  Servian  Singing  Society  of  Belgrade  gave  in 
Berlin.  He — King  Alexander — considered  this 
only  as  a  simple  courtesy  of  the  Kaiser,  who,  as  is 
well  known,  delights  in  showing  courtesies.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  it  was  now  the  time  to  act  earn- 
estly, and  he  could  most  positively  assure  his  dear 
Premier,  that  within  three,  or  at  the  latest  four 
months,  his  marriage  would  be  an  accomplished  fact. 
Dr.  Vladan  was  perfectly  satisfied  with  this 
explanation. 

The  very  next  day  after  this  conversation 
between  King  Alexander  and  Dr.  Vladan  his 
Premier,  the  Prefect  of  the  Police  of  Belgrade,  Mr. 
Rista  Bademlich,  came  as  usual  very  early,  to 
show  to  the  Premier  the  police  report  prepared  for 
the  King.  Having  delivered  his  usual  report,  he 
startled  Dr.  Vladan  by  suddenly  saying — 


126  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

"  I  say,  Mr.  President,  my  '  Kooma  '  will  cause 
us  a  terrible  misfortune." 

"  Which  Kooma1  do  you  mean  ?  " 

Bademlich  :  "  You  know  I  mean  that  misfortune- 
bringing  woman,  Draga  Mashin." 

Dr.  Vladan :  "  But  why  should  that  person 
bring  us  misfortune.  What  interest  could  she  have 
in  doing  so  ?  " 

Bademlich  :  "  She  has  made  the  King  perfectly 
blind,  so  that  he  cannot  see  anything  but  her ;  and 
spends  every  night  with  her.  Do  you  not  know 
that  she  has,  with  the  magic  drinks  she  gives  him, 
made  him  so  foolish  that  he  spends  hours  under 
her  window,  begging  her  humbly  to  let  him  in  ? 
Have  you  never  thought  that  the  King,  when 
waiting  under  Draga's  windows  in  that  otherwise 
deserted  street,  might  be  murdered,  or  catch  a 
serious  illness,  in  wet  and  cold  weather." 

Dr.  Vladan  :  "  We  know  all  that." 

Bademlich :  "  And  yet  you  take  no  steps  to 
stop  this  shame  and  scandal." 

Dr.  Vladan:  "We  do  not  undertake  anything, 
because  if  we  tried,  he  would  rightly  stop  us  by 
saying  that  our  duty  is  to  attend  to  State  business, 
and  not  to  his  personal  and  private  love-making  ; 
and  that  he  does  not  prevent  us  taking  the  necessary 
measures  for  his  safety,  which  is  the  duty  of  the 
Home  Minister,  and  your  own,  my  dear  Prefect 

1  "  Kooma "  in  feminine,  "  Koom "  in  masculine  form,  are  the 
Servian  names  for  principal  witnesses  at  a  wedding,  as  well  as  for  the 
godmothers  and  godfathers. 


ON  THE  EVE  OF  THE  FATAL  DEED       127 

of  the  Police !  Besides,  as  I  am  informed,  the 
King  is  always,  on  such  visits,  accompanied  by 
Colonel  Marko,  whose  sword  and  revolver  are 
worth  as  much  as  a  squadron  of  guards,  which,  of 
course,  could  not  accompany  the  King  to  the 
windows  of  Draga.  You  ought,  however,  to  place 
always  in  the  neighbourhood  a  sufficient  number  of 
detectives,  who  could  rush  at  the  first  shrill  whistle 
of  Colonel  Marko  to  his  orders." 

Dr.  Vladan  tried,  without  much  pruderie,  to 
explain  why  the  Government  allowed  King 
Alexander  to  have  a  mistress.  The  arguments  are 
too  physiological  and  cynical  to  be  repeated  in 
decent  society.  In  addition,  he  thought  that  as 
the  relations  between  Alexander  and  Draga  had 
lasted  now  several  years,  it  gave  grounds  to  believe 
that  the  King  would  probably  tire  of  his  nine  or 
ten  years'  older  mistress,  and  that  he  would  soon 
give  her  up.  He  had  not  the  slightest  doubt 
that  would  be  the  case  the  moment  the  King 
married  the  young  and  charming  Princess,  whom 
he  —  the  King  —  had  in  view.  After  the  long 
dissertation  of  Dr.  Vladan,  the  Prefect  Bademlich 
asked — 

Bademlich  :  "  Mr.  President,  do  you  and  your 
colleagues  really  believe  that  the  King  will  marry 
according  to  our  hopes  and  wishes,  so  long  as  he 
has  Draga  ?  " 

Dr.  Vladan  :  "  I  am  sure  of  it.  On  New  Year's 
Day  the  King  gave  me,  in  the  presence  of  his  father, 
the  Ministers  and  the  State  dignitaries,  in  the  most 


128  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

solemn  way,  his  Royal  word  that,  in  the  course  of 
the  year,  he  would  marry." 

Bademlich  :  "  And  I  say  to  you,  Mr.  President, 
and  I  beg  you  to  mark  my  words  :  this  woman  has 
bewitched  the  King  so  completely  that  he  firmly 
believes  that  with  no  other  woman  could  he  ever  be 
happy — indeed,  that  to  no  other  woman  could  he 
ever  be  a  husband!  And  if  the  King  means  to 
keep  his  word,  which  he  so  solemnly  gave  to  you, 
he  means,  simply,  to  marry  Draga  Mashin ! " 

Dr.  Vladan  (loudly  laughing) :  "What  do  you 
say  ?  Draga  Mashin  a  Queen  of  Servia  ?  Listen, 
my  dear  fellow,  what  you  have  just  said  is  too 
strong.  You  are  such  an  excellent  Police  Prefect 
that  I  cannot  understand  how  such  folly  could  have 
ever  entered  your  head,  and  much  less  how  you 
could  give  expression  to  it.  It  is  evident  that  you 
do  not  know  anything  of  the  science  of  psychology, 
and  especially  that  you  are  not  acquainted  with  the 
psychology  of  sovereigns." 

Bademlich  :  "  Well ;  but  I  tell  you  one  thing 
— I  would  not  give  mypretktiik  (he  used  that  word), 
for  all  your  grammatik,  or  whatever  your  scientific 
theories  might  be  called.  I  warn  you,  Mr. 
President,  to  take  care  that  you  do  not  one  day 
repent  having  relied  too  much  on  your  science ! 
Then  it  will  be  too  late  for  you,  for  us  all,  and  for 
the  country ! " 

Three  months  later,  events  proved  that  the 
practical  common-sense  of  an  experienced  police 
officer  had  been  far  more  clear-sighted  than  the 


ON  THE  EVE  OF  THE  FATAL  DEED       129 

psychology    and    physiology  of  the   learned    Dr. 
Vladan. 

Dr.  Vladan — from  whose  Memoirs  I  have  taken 
the  report  of  his  conversation  with  Bademlich — 
acknowledges  that  himself.  He,  however,  explains 
his  mistake  by  saying  that  he  assumed  quite  normal 
conditions  in  King  Alexander,  whereas  the  autopsy 
after  the  catastrophe  proved  that  Alexander  was 
not  normally  constituted. 

On  June  6th  (iQth),  1900,  King  Alexander  told 
Dr.  Vladan  that  his  father,  King  Milan,  would 
leave  Belgrade  for  Carlsbad  the  next  day,  with 
a  special  mission  to  stay  first  for  a  few  days  in 
Vienna,  to  speak  with  the  Emperor  of  Austria 
concerning  his  (King  Alexander's)  marriage.  Dr. 
Vladan  expressed  his  great  pleasure  in  hearing 
this. 

"Well,  then,"  continued  the  King,  "you  must 
do  me  a  pleasure,  too.  It  is  very  probable  that  I 
shall  have  to  leave  Belgrade,  even  before  my  birth- 
day, August  2nd  (i4th),  to  go  to  Carlsbad,  not  to 
the  cure,  but  to  meet  my  intended.  You  will  admit 
yourself  that  it  is  highly  desirable  that  we  should 
meet  to  see  if — putting  all  other  conditions  aside — 
we  could  have  that  sympathy  for  each  other  that 
is  absolutely  needful,  even  in  a  marriage  made  from 
the  'highest  State  reasons.'  But  I  cannot  leave 
the  country  before  you  and  papa  return.  You 
have  not  only  to  make  your  cure  at  Marienbad,  but 
also  to  go  to  Paris  to  see  our  Pavilion  at  the 
Exhibition.  You  will  want  six  or  seven  weeks 


130  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

for  all  that.     I    think  it,   therefore,   desirable  that 
you  start  at  once  on  your  leave  of  absence." 

Dr.  Vladan  expressed  his  willingness  to  leave 
for  Vienna  on  the  8th,  that  is  in  two  days." 

"  Thank  you,  Doctor!"  said  the  King,  with  a 
deep  sigh,  as  if  he  suddenly  were  relieved  from  a 
great  weight.  "  Only,  please  don't  forget  what  I 
told  you  about  the  special  mission  of  my  father  to 
Vienna  must  remain  a  secret.  I  beg  of  you  not  to 
show  in  conversation  with  my  father  that  you  know 
anything  about  it.  Because  if  he  does  not  succeed, 
it  might  not  be  pleasant  for  him  to  learn  that 
besides  the  Emperor  and  us,  someone  else  was  in 
the  secret.  When  you  see  Goluchowsky,  there  is 
no  need  for  you  to  take  the  initiative  in  talking 
with  him  on  my  marriage.  But  if  he  speaks  to 
you  on  the  subject,  I  authorise  you  to  ask  him  for 
his  support  in  the  matter." 

On  June  7th  (2oth),  King  Milan  left  Belgrade 
for  Vienna.  The  next  day  the  Premier,  Dr.  Vladan, 
having  given  over  his  duties  as  President  of  the 
Cabinet  and  Foreign  Minister  to  his  colleague,  the 
Minister  of  Finance,  Vukashin  Petrovich,  left  also 
for  Vienna. 

King  Alexander,  Draga  Mashin,  and  the 
Russian  Charge  d' Affaires,  Mr.  Mansuroff,  had 
now  a  clear  field  to  themselves. 


QUEEN  DRAGA 

In  the  year  of  her  marriage  inth  King  Alexander 


CHAPTER  XIII 

ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  WITH  DRAGA  MASHIN 

ON  Thursday,  July  6th  (iQth),  1900,  there  was  in 
the  afternoon  the  usual  reception  of  the  foreign 
diplomats  in  the  Servian  Foreign  Office  in  Belgrade. 
The  last  Minister  to  be  received  was  the  German 
Minister,  Baron  Waecker  -  Gotter.  The  locum 
tenens  of  the  Servian  Premier  and  Foreign  Minister, 
Mr.  Vukashin  Petrovich,  was  just  leaving  the 
building,  together  with  the  Baron,  when  the  Home 
Minister,  Mr.  George  Genchich,  stopped  him,  and 
asked  him  to  return  at  once  with  him  to  his  office. 
He  said  to  him,  in  a  visible  state  of  agitation — 
"  I  cannot  tell  you  what  it  is,  but  I  will  only  say, 
something  fateful,  something  fatal,  something  dread- 
ful is  going  to  happen !  I  was  obliged  to  take  an 
oath  that  I  should  not  betray  the  secret,  and  I  shall 
not  do  so.  But  this  I  can  tell  you,  that  I  have 
wired  in  cipher  to  King  Milan,  that  a  great  mis- 
fortune for  him  personally,  for  King  Alexander, 
for  Servia,  and  for  us  all  is  in  preparation,  and 
have  asked  him  to  come  at  once  to  prevent  that 
misfortune,  if  possible." 

Mr.  Genchich  advised  his  colleague  to  go   to 

131 


132  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

the  Palace  at  once.     "  Perhaps  the  King  will  tell 
you  what  is  going  on." 

It  was  nearly  7  o'clock  p.m.  Mr.  Petrovich — 
whom  I  shall  call  Mr.  Vukashin,  as  he  always 
signs  himself,  and  as  he  is  generally  known  in 
Servia  under  that  name — went  to  the  Palace,  and 
was  surprised  to  find  in  the  antechamber  old  Mr. 
Nicholas  Christich  waiting.  Mr.  Christich  had 
been  generally  called  to  the  Palace  during  the  last 
thirty  years  whenever  the  Kings  of  Servia  found 
themselves  in  an  exceptionally  difficult  situation. 
Mr.  Vukashin  asked  the  old  statesman  laughingly — 
"  Have  you  perhaps  come  to  form  a  new 
Cabinet  ?  " 

King  Alexander  received  Mr.  Vukashin  in  great 
agitation  and  irritation.  He  told  him  simply  that 
he  had  then  no  time  to  listen  to  him,  and  dis- 
missed him  somewhat  ungraciously,  in  a  few  minutes. 
The  Minister  felt  so  humiliated  and  offended  that 
he  went  home  and  wrote  his  resignation. 

On  July  7th  (2oth),  Dr.  Vladan,  on  his  journey 
from  Zurich  to  Lucerne,  received  a  telegram  from 
his  locum  tenens,  Vukashin,  stating  that  he  had 
resigned,  and  begging  him  to  return  at  once. 
Vladan  wired  to  King  Milan  at  Carlsbad,  and 
asked  him  if  he  knew  what  was  taking  place  in 
Belgrade.  Dr.  Vladan  and  King  Milan  wired  that 
day  to  each  other  in  ciphers,  but  they  could  not 
decipher  their  despatches  with  the  cipher  books 
which  King  Alexander's  Secretary  had  given  them. 
Losing  much  precious  time  in  unsuccessful  decipher- 


ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  133 

ing,  both  were  annoyed ;  but  they  did  not  suspect 
that  by  the  King's  order  they  were  given  wrong 
books.  Even  this  small  detail  was  foreseen !  At 
last,  on  July  8th  (2ist),  King  Milan  wired  to  Dr. 
Vladan,  in  an  open  telegram,  that  he  had  received 
from  the  Home  Minister,  Genchich,  an  urgent 
request  to  return  at  once  to  Servia,  "but  secretly." 
"  To  return  secretly  was  not  compatible  with  my 
duty.  I  therefore  refused  the  request,  and  asked 
for  information  by  a  letter." 

A  little  later  on  the  same  day,  Dr.  Vladan 
received  in  Lucerne  the  following  telegram — 

"The  King  has  decided  to  marry  Draga 
Mashin.  The  Government  has  resigned,  feeling 
unable  to  prevent  that  catastrophe  for  the  country 
and  dynasty. — VUKASHIN." 

Dr.  Vladan  wired  to  King  Alexander  in  cipher — 

"  Vukashin  announces  to  me,  by  a  telegram  of 
this  day,  that  your  Majesty  has  decided  to  marry 
Mme.  Draga  Mashin.  Most  humbly  I  pray  your 
Majesty  to  let  me  know  if  this  fatal  decision  for 
Servia  and  for  the  dynasty  was  a  definite  one." 

King  Alexander  answered  the  same  day,  in  a 
telegram  which  had  only  two  ciphers,  which  meant — 

"Yes,  my  decision  is  definite. — ALEXANDER." 

On  the  same  day  Dr.  Vladan  received  two 
other  telegrams.  The  one  was  from  Carlsbad — 

"  I  have  sent  in  my  resignation  as  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  the  Army,  but  you  do  not  resign  at 
least  for  a  day  or  two.  If  possible,  come  at  once 
to  me. — MILAN." 


134  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

The  other  telegram  was  from  Belgrade,  signed 
by  Mr.  Vukashin — 

"  The  question  is  decided.  The  resignation  of 
the  Cabinet  has  been  accepted." 

Dr.  Vladan,  having  ceased  to  be  the  head  of 
the  Government,  thought  it  useless  to  go  to  Carls- 
bad to  confer  with  King  Milan,  who  had  ceased  to 
be  the  head  of  the  Servian  Army. 

The  foregoing  story  is  only  a  chronological 
sketch  of  the  events  which  rapidly  followed  each 
other.  I  now  raise  the  curtain  to  depict  a  drama. 
The  diary,  or  rather  the  memorandum,  which  has 
been  written  by  one  of  the  principal  actors  of  the 
drama  itself,  gives  us  a  graphic  description  of  the 
events.1 

On  July  7th  (2Oth),  early  in  the  morning, 
King  Alexander  had  in  his  hands  the  resignation  of 
his  Acting  Premier,  Mr.  Vukashin  ;  but  he  returned 
it  to  him,  and  invited  him  to  lunch.  Everybody  in 
the  Palace  noticed  that  the  King  was  that  morn- 
ing somewhat  preoccupied,  irritable,  and  confused. 
After  the  luncheon  he  took  Mr.  Vukashin  to  a 
small  but  elegantly  furnished  room  in  the  Palace, 
known  as  Queen  Nathalie's  Boudoir. 

The  King :  "I  have  something  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  tell  you,  something  on  which  depend 
my  future,  my  life,  my  destiny.  But  let  me  in  the 

1  The  Diary  of  Vukashin  Petrovich,  Minister  of  Finance  in  the 
Cabinet  of  Dr.  Vladan,  and  his  locum  tenens  in  the  Premiership  and 
the  Foreign  Office  during  his  absence.  Printed  in  Dr.  Vladan's 
book,  The  End  of  a  Dynasty,  pp.  559-588. 


ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  135 

first  place  reproach  you  for  your  resignation.  We 
have  been  so  many  years  such  good  friends  that 
we  have  no  right  to  be  over-sensitive  in  small 
matters.  Have  you  seen  Genchich  ?  Has  he 
told  you  anything?" 

The  Minister :  "  Yes,  I  have  seen  Genchich ; 
but,  unfortunately  he  refused  to  tell  me  anything." 

The  King:  "Well,  then,  I  will  presently  tell 
you  everything  myself;  but  before  we  do  so,  you 
must  make  a  solemn  oath  on  this  holy  picture,  that 
you  will  not  tell  anyone  what  I  am  now  going  to 
confide  to  you  ! " 

And  with  those  words  King  Alexander  brought 
out  from  his  breast  a  small  bijou  holy  eikon  of  the 
Russian  type,  which  of  late  he  had  taken  to  wearing 
on  a  gold  chain.  Probably  the  picture  represented 
Saint  Nicholas,  the  patron  saint  of  the  family 
Obrenovich.  I  believe  it  was  the  gift  of  his 
mistress  Draga,  and  very  likely  she  made  it 
doubly  precious  to  him  by  swearing  on  it  to  love 
him,  and  to  be  faithful  to  him  through  all  eternity. 

The  Minister :  "  Your  Majesty,  I  must  tell  you 
that  I  do  not  believe  in  holy  pictures,  and  an  oath 
on  them  would  not  be  binding  on  me." 

The  King :  "  Then  swear  by  the  memory  of 
your  departed  son." 

Mr.  Vukashin  Petrovich  had  a  very  gifted  and 
promising  son,  a  young  doctor,  who  a  year  or  two 
before  these  events  died  in  a  Vienna  hospital  from 
blood-poisoning,  through  a  wound  got  in  a  surgical 
operation. 


136  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

The  Minister :  "  The  memory  of  my  son  is 
certainly  sacred  to  me,  but  I  cannot  make  it  the 
foundation  for  an  oath." 

The  King:  "Then  give  me  your  word  of 
honour." 

The  Minister :  "  Certainly ;  but  only  after  I 
have  seen  that  my  word  of  honour  will  not  bring 
me  into  conflict  with  my  other  duties." 

The  King  rose  in  evident  anger,  and  with  the 
words  :  "  In  that  case  I  have  nothing  to  tell  you," 
left  the  room. 

But  in  ten  minutes  he  returned,  went  near  Mr. 
Vukashin  and  said  :  "  Why  should  you  not  promise 
me  to  keep  the  secret  ?  " 

The  Minister  :  "  My  refusal  concerns  only  the 
secrets  of  the  State ;  but  if  you  have  to  tell  me 
something  that  does  not  concern  the  State  and 
public  service,  you  may  be  sure  that  I  will  carry 
it  with  me  to  the  grave." 

The  King:  "Very  well.  Now,  listen  to  me. 
You  know,  Vukashin,  that  I  have  had  neither 
childhood  nor  youth  like  other  men.  The  eternal 
quarrel  between  my  parents  made  my  life  bitter, 
undermined  my  health  in  general,  and  my  nerves 
more  especially.  Such  a  life  killed  in  me  every 
sentiment.  I  have  never  had  any  ambition,  not 
even  the  ambition  to  reign  as  a  King.  I  wear  the 
crown,  not  because  I  love  it,  but  because  it  is  my 
duty  to  do  so.  You  must  have  noticed  that 
yourself." 

The    Minister :    "In    what    you    say,  Sire,    is 


ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  137 

certainly  some  truth,  but  as  you  have  touched 
upon  delicate  family  relations  I  cannot  say  any- 
thing about  them." 

The  King :  "  Very  well.  Hear  only  what  I 
have  further  to  say.  You  and  your  colleagues 
have  always  pressed  me  to  marry.  I  have  now 
decided  to  do  what  you  have  wished.  Having 
come  to  this  decision,  I  found  that  none  of  the 
great  Sovereign  Courts  was  willing  to  give  me 
one  of  their  daughters  for  wife.  No  Princess 
belonging  to  a  great  dynasty  is  willing  to  marry 
me.  Indeed,  it  would  be  foolish  for  anyone  to  give 
up  her  fine  life  in  her  own  country  and  exchange  it 
for  the  life  in  Servia.  I  am  really  not  disposed  to 
marry  a  Princess  belonging  to  a  branch  line  and  to 
a  little  Court ;  and,  besides,  such  a  marriage  would 
bring  to  our  people  no  advantage.  A  foreign 
Princess  from  a  small  Court  would  try  to  exercise 
influence  on  the  business  of  the  State.  That  would 
without  fail  cause  dissatisfaction  in  the  country,  and 
put  me,  personally,  in  a  very  awkward  position. 
Therefore,  I  have  decided  to  marry  a  Servian,  a 
daughter  of  my  own  people.  What  do  you  say  to 
that,  Vukashin  ?  " 

The  Minister :  "  Personally,  Sire,  I  have  no 
aristocratic  prejudices,  and  am  more  with  the 
democratic  tendencies  of  our  time.  And,  therefore 
— although  for  different  reasons  and  not  for  those 
you  adduce — I  have  nothing  against  the  marriage 
of  your  Majesty  with  a  Servian,  provided  that  she 
is  from  a  respectable  house,  well  educated,  young, 


138  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

at  least  five  years  younger  than  your  Majesty,  and 
pure  as  an  angel.  Such  a  Queen  could  gain  the 
love  of  the  people.  Such  a  Queen  the  Servians 
would  really  prefer  to  a  foreign  Princess,  and  your 
Government  would  not  oppose  the  wish  of  your 
Majesty." 

The  King  (rising  up):  "Yes,  but  all  the  diffi- 
culty lies  just  therein,  that  there  exists  already  a 
woman,  whom  I  love  more  than  anyone  or  any- 
thing in  this  world,  the  only  woman  with  whom  I  can 
be  perfectly  happy,  and  only  then  can  I  consecrate 
my  whole  life  to  the  interests  of  the  people  if  she 
becomes  my  wife.  In  the  whole  world  there  is 
only  one  woman  who  can  make  me  forget  the 
bitterness  of  my  past  life,  and  make  me  feel  happy. 
That  woman  has  been  hitherto  my  good  angel,  who 
gave  me  strength  to  bear  patiently  all  that  I  had  to 
bear." 

The  Minister  :  "  And  who  is  that  woman,  Sire  ?  " 

The  King:  "That  woman  is — Madame  Draga, 
the  daughter  of  the  late  Panta  Lunyevitza." 

The  Minister  (in  consternation) :  "  Draga 
Mashin?  .  .  .  No,  Sire,  that  cannot  be — that 
ought  not  to  be." 

The  King's  eyes  filled  with  tears,  not  of  tender 
emotion,  but  of  rage.  He  took  off  his  binocle, 
rubbed  it  spasmodically  with  his  handkerchief, 
fixed  them  again  on  the  bridge  of  his  nose, 
bit  the  ends  of  his  moustache,  jumped  from  his 
seat,  walked  hurriedly  about  the  room,  sat  down 
again,  and  again  jumped  up  and  walked  nervously 


ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  139 

about.     At  last  he  stopped  before  the  Minister,  and 
said — 

The  King  :  "  Are  you  my  friend,  Vukashin  ?" 

The  Minister :  "  That  I  am,  Sire." 

The  King :  "If  you  are  my  friend,  you  ought 
to  help  me  to  carry  out  my  purpose.  It  cannot  be 
otherwise.  From  this  my  purpose  I  will  not  desist, 
whatever  may  happen  ;  and  he  who  tries  to  hinder 
me  is  my  enemy." 

The  Minister :  "  That  being  so,  I  lose  no  time 
in  declaring  that  I  cease  to  be  your  Majesty's 
Minister." 

After  some  conversation  between  the  King  and 
the  Minister  concerning  the  course  which  the  King 
might  follow  in  forming  a  new  Cabinet,  the  Minister, 
according  to  his  Diary,  reverted  to  the  communica- 
tion the  King  had  made  to  him. 

The  Minister :  "I  pray  your  Majesty  most 
graciously  to  forgive  me  if  I  say  anything  that  a 
Minister  who  has  just  resigned  ought  not  to  say. 
It  is  hard  for  me  to  believe  that  you  mean  to  marry 
Madame  Draga.  Do  you  not  see,  Sire,  that  such  a 
step  is  nothing  less  than  the  suicide  of  the  dynasty  ? 
Putting  aside  anything  that  could  be  said  against 
that  lady,  her  known  sterility  would  be  quite  suffi- 
cient to  prove  what  I  have  just  said.  But  other 
circumstances  of  the  case  ought  not  to  be  over- 
looked. Madame  Draga  is  much  older  than  your- 
self. She  does  not  enjoy  a  good  reputation — 
rightly  or  wrongly — and  as  it  often  happens  in 
common  life,  a  good  mistress  does  not  make  always 


140  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

a  good  wife.  The  Pretender  Peter  Karageorgevich 
would  gain,  in  consequence  of  such  a  marriage, 
much  more  than  if  he  had  distributed  a  million 
napoleondors  to  the  agitators  against  the  Obreno- 
vich  Dynasty.  You  ought  to  know,  Sire,  that  after 
such  a  marriage  not  a  single  European  Court  will 
receive  you ;  you  will  be  boycotted  by  all  the 
Sovereigns  in  Europe.  The  entire  intelligence  of 
the  country  will  rebel  against  it,  and  will  never  be 
reconciled  to  it.  Not  only  your  Majesty,  but  Servia 
will  lose  the  esteem  which  it  now  enjoys  in  the 
world,  and  will  soon  become  an  object  of  irony  and 
contempt.  Believe  me,  Sire,  I  would  gladly  sacri- 
fice my  life  if  I  could  but  save  you  from  this  fatal 
step " 

The  King  (interrupting  him) :  "  Hear  me  once 
for  all,  Vukashin.  I  am  inflexibly  resolved  to 
marry  Madame  Draga.  Don't  insult  me  by  attacks 
on  her.  She  is  an  honest  and  honourable  woman  ; 
and  only  her  enemies  speak  badly  of  her.  The 
difference  in  the  ages  is  not  so  great.  She  is  only 
eight  years  older  than  I,  and  you  know  how  often 
such  cases  take  place  amongst  our  people.  Of 
course,  I  know  that  the  enemies  of  our  dynasty 
will  exploit  this  opportunity  against  us,  as  they 
would  any  other.  You  say  you  speak  to  me  as  a 
friend ;  but  you  will  allow  me  that  I  have  my  own 
convictions.  Your  opinion  is  based  on  a  hypothesis  ; 
my  own  is  founded  on  facts  and  proofs." 

After  a  silence  of  a  few  minutes  the  King  con- 
tinued— 


ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  141 

"  I  will  give  you  at  once  the  proof  that  Draga 
is  an  honest  and  honourable  woman.  I  made  her 
acquaintance  in  1894.  Her  modesty,  her  wisdom, 
her  entire  bearing  pleased  me  much,  and  impressed 
me  deeply.  I  took  every  opportunity  to  approach 
her.  She  persistently  evaded  me.  When  at  last  I 
succeeded  in  entering  her  room,  she  protested  most 
energetically ;  and  when  I  declared  to  her  that 
without  her  I  could  not  live,  she  simply  took  me  by 
the  shoulders  and  pushed  me — her  King — outside. 
I  say  that  only  an  honest  and  honourable  woman 
could  act  thus.  All  the  time  she  lived  at  Biarritz 
she  did  not  permit  me  to  come  near  her.  Much 
later,  after  she  came  to  Belgrade,  and  after  she  got 
proofs  that  without  her  and  her  love  I  could  not 
live,  has  she  sacrificed  herself  for  me.  Yes,  I  am 
passionately  in  love  with  her,  and  without  her  I 
cannot  live  ! " 

The  Minister,  using  cleverly  the  intimate  con- 
fessions which  the  King  had  just  made  to  him, 
suggested  that  he  should  at  least  adjourn  his 
marriage  with  Draga  for  a  year,  employing  that 
time  to  the  restoration  of  his  health.  But  the  King 
laughed  with  scorn  at  the  cautious  Minister's 
suggestion.  The  Minister  asked  him  if  he  had 
informed  his  father,  King  Milan,  of  his  decision. 

"  No,"  answered  the  King,  "as  yet  I  have  not 
told  him  anything.  But  there  is  now  no  power  on 
earth  which  could  prevent  my  marrying  Draga, 
whatever  the  consequences  may  be!  I  would 
prefer  to  give  up  my  crown,  and  live  with  Draga 


142  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

on  a  revenue  of  9000  francs  (^360)  a  year,  than 
possess  the  crown  and  a  Civil-list  of  1,200,000 
francs  (,£48,000).  Whatever  I  had  I  have  given 
her.  I  gave  her  500,000  francs  that  she  should  not 
leave  me.  I  knew  that  my  marriage  with  her 
would  meet  with  extraordinary  difficulties ;  there- 
fore, I  have  surrendered  myself  to  her,  body  and 
soul,  and,  therefore,  I  have  made  it  impossible  for 
her  to  leave  me.  You  ought  to  know  that  she  per- 
sistently refused  to  become  Queen.  I  alone  know 
what  difficulties  I  have  had  to  gain  her  consent. 
And  now,  after  I  have  at  last  broken  down  her 
resistance,  you  come  and  make  difficulties !  Have 
you  no  pity  for  me  ?  Do  you  wish  to  force  me  to 
go  away  for  ever  ?  Because  you  ought  to  be  per- 
fectly certain  that,  if  I  cannot  marry  Draga  as  King, 
I  will  leave  Servia  for  ever,  and  marry  her  as  a 
private  individual." 

The  conversation  was  here  broken  off.  He  told 
Vukashin  that  he  would  be  engaged  for  an  hour,  but 
that  he  (the  Minister)  must  not  leave  the  Palace 
until  his  return.  Practically  he  arrested  the  Minister. 

The  King  went,  accompanied  by  an  Equerry,  to 
Draga's  little  house,  and  spent  some  time  with  her. 
On  his  return  to  the  Palace,  he  allowed  the  Premier 
to  leave ;  but  ordered  him  to  come  early  next  day 
with  all  his  colleagues. 

He  called  then  his  private  secretary,  Dr.  Voislav 
Velykovich,  and  asked  him  to  help  him  to  write 
a  proclamation,  in  which  he  announced  to  the 
people  his  engagement  to  Draga.  Dr.  Velykovich 


ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  143 

refused,  and  then  and  there  resigned  his  post.  A 
violent  scene  took  place  between  them.  At  last 
they  came  to  a  compromise ;  the  King  accepted 
the  resignation  of  his  private  secretary.  Dr.  Vely- 
kovich  remained  his  old  friend,  and  assisted  the  King 
to  compose  his  proclamation  to  the  people  of  Servia. 

The  next  day,  Saturday,  July  8th  (2ist),  all  the 
Ministers,  at  a  Cabinet  Council,  wrote  and  signed 
their  collective  resignations.  In  that  document 
they  stated  that,  after  all  their  efforts  to  decide  his 
Majesty  to  give  up  his  fatal  intention  of  marrying 
Mme.  Draga  Mashin  had  been  unsuccessful,  there 
remained  nothing  to  them  but  to  request  his 
Majesty  to  accept  their  resignations. 

At  the  same  time  the  Cabinet  decided  to  take 
an  important  step.  The  Minister  of  Public  Works, 
Colonel  Borivoy,  and  the  Minister  for  Home  Affairs, 
Genchich,  were  sent  to  Mme.  Draga  Mashin.  In 
the  name  of  the  Government  they  represented  to 
her  that  her  marriage  with  the  King  would  cause 
the  ruin  of  the  dynasty,  and  be  a  great  misfortune 
to  the  country.  They  appealed  to  her  love  for  the 
King  and  the  country,  and  begged  her  to  do  them 
both  a  signal  service  by  preventing  that  marriage, 
and  hinted  ^that  the  country  would  liberally  recom- 
pense her  for  such  a  service.  They  asked  her  to 
leave  the  country  at  once.  I  do  not  know  if  Mr. 
Genchich  told  her  that  in  the  case  of  her  refusal, 
she  would,  that  very  morning,  be  forcibly  carried 
out  of  the  country. 

Mme.  Draga  listened  to  them  with  great  calm- 


144  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

ness,  and  apparently  agreed  fully  with  their  ideas. 
She  said  she  was  ready  to  leave  the  country,  but 
she  must  have  at  least  a  few  hours  to  pack  up. 
While  her  maid  did  this,  she  would  hide  herself  in 
the  house  of  an  intimate  friend,  where  the  King 
could  not  discover  her.  And  she  left  her  house  in 
a  carriage. 

Draga  proved  herself  a  very  able  actress  on  that 
occasion.  She  succeeded  in  misleading  the  Ministers 
concerning  her  sincerity.  If  she  had  refused  to 
comply  with  their  suggestion,  she  would  have  been 
most  probably  carried  away  forcibly  across  the  river 
to  Hungary.  But  she  complied  readily.  At  the 
same  time,  to  her  younger  brother,  who  put  her  in 
the  carriage,  she  whispered  the  name  of  the  friend 
to  whom  she  was  going. 

Two  hours  later,  King  Alexander  came  to  see 
Draga.  He  got  into  a  rage  when  he  found  that  she 
had  left,  and  that  no  one  in  the  house  knew  where 
she  had  gone.  Her  brother  professed  ignorance,  but 
after  some  time,  yielding  to  the  pressing  questions 
of  the  enraged  King,  he  confided  to  him  his  sister's 
hiding-place.  The  King  drove  at  once  to  the 
house  of  Draga's  friend,  and  brought  her  back  to 
her  own  home ;  and  then  and  there  put  on  her 
finger  a  beautiful  diamond  ring,  declaring  himself 
formally  engaged  to  her. 

So  failed  miserably  the  only  attempt  of  the 
Government  to  frustrate  the  marriage  of  King 
Alexander  with  Draga. 

It  is  true  they  sent  also  the  Minister  of  Educa- 


ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  145 

tion  and  Church  Affairs  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Belgrade  and  the  Metropolitan  of  Servia,  to  draw 
his  attention  to  the  terrible  consequences  for  the 
dynasty,  Servia,  and  for  himself  personally,  if  he 
dared  to  give  his  blessing  to  such  a  marriage.  But 
the  Archbishop  Inokentiye  was  well  known  as  the 
most  unreliable  of  men.  He  did  try  to  persuade 
the  King  to  give  it  up,  but  soon  perceived  that  all 
his  efforts  were  useless. 

The  Acting-Premier  Vukashin  states  in  his 
Diary  that  he  had  one  moment  the  idea  to  arrest  the 
King  in  the  Palace,  or  to  carry  him  forcibly  out  of 
the  country  !  He  asked  the  War  Minister,  General 
Atanaskovich,  if  such  a  plan  could  be  successfully 
executed.  The  General  answered  that  he  could  do 
it,  but  that  he  would  not,  because  such  an  act  would 
demoralise  all  discipline  in  the  army.  Naturally, 
Mr.  Vukashin  had  to  give  up  his  idea,  and  ask  his 
colleague  to  promise  him  never  to  mention  it  to 
anyone. 

King  Alexander's  proclamation,  announcing  to 
the  people  his  engagement  with  Draga  Mashin, 
created  consternation  among  the  true  friends  of 
the  Obrenovich  Dynasty,  and  generally  produced 
the  greatest  impression  and  astonishment  in  the 
country. 

The  most  intimate  friends  of  the  King,  who 
had  free  access  to  the  Palace,  implored  him  to 
desist  from  his  fatal  intention.  The  King  refused 
to  receive  most  of  them.  Those  whom  he  received 
were  told  that,  if  they  were  really  his  friends,  they 


IO 


146  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

ought  to  help  him  to  achieve  the  only  desire  of 
his  heart,  to  marry  the  only  woman  whom  he 
loved  with  all  his  heart  and  soul,  and  who  alone 
was  able  to  make  him  happy.  It  was  no  use  to 
talk  to  him  of  consequences,  he  was  ready  to  take 
all  the  consequences ;  and  his  determination  to 
marry  Draga  was  unalterable  and  inflexible. 

A  deputation  of  influential  citizens,  most  of 
them  well  known  as  the  dynasty's  devoted  friends, 
asked  for  an  audience,  and  were  received.  Led 
by  Michael  Pavlovich  and  Marko  Vuletich,  they 
frankly  acquainted  the  King  of  most  deplorable 
impressions  created  everywhere  by  his  engagement 
to  Draga  Mashin.  Some  of  them  even  hinted 
that  rumours  were  circulating  concerning  the 
lady's  reputation.  The  King  warmly  defended 
his  fiancee,  assured  them  that  he  knew  her  to 
be  a  perfectly  honourable  woman,  that  she  was 
his  guardian-angel,  that  she  was  a  true  Servian 
woman,  and  a  great  patriot,  and  that  in  the  end, 
whatever  she  was  or  is,  she  was  the  only  woman 
he  loved,  or  could  love ;  and  that  he  would  rather 
lose  his  throne  and  crown,  yes,  even  his  life, 
than  live  without  her  love.  The  deputations 
left  the  Palace  deeply  distressed.  Some  of  them 
thought  the  young  King  talked  and  behaved  as 
if  he  were  bewitched. 

The  town  was  full  of  all  sorts  of  rumours. 
One  of  them  was  that  the  officers  of  the  Belgrade 
garrison,  perfectly  disgusted  that  their  King  should 
marry  his  mistress,  had  decided  to  go  together  to 


ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  147 

the  Palace  and  ask  the  King  either  to  give  up 
his  mad  intention,  or  abdicate  in  favour  of  his 
father. 

The  difficulty  of  the  situation  was  dangerously 
complicated  by  the  inability  of  the  King  to  form 
a  new  Cabinet.  All  the  more  important  politicians, 
well  known  as  devoted  friends  of  the  dynasty, 
refused  to  form  a  new  Government.  All  the 
public  services  seemed  disorganised,  and  every- 
thing was  unsettled.  The  friends  of  the  dynasty 
expected  every  moment  to  hear  that  King  Milan 
had  crossed  the  frontier  to  Servia,  or  that  the 
officers  had  forced  the  King  either  to  give  up 
Draga  or  the  throne.  King  Alexander  never 
vacillated  for  a  moment  in  his  determination,  but 
was  physically  nearly  exhausted,  and  quite  in 
despair,  when  a  telegram  was  brought  to  him. 
His  face  brightened,  he  sighed  deeply,  as  a  man 
who  suddenly  is  relieved  of  a  terribly  oppressive 
weight.  Later  in  the  day  he  received  the  Russian 
Charge  d' Affaires,  Mansuroff.  The  official  Gazette 
brought,  printed  in  thick  letters,  the  following 
Court  communication  : — 

"Belgrade,  July  13,  1900.  At  the  order  of 
his  Imperial  Majesty,  Tzar  Nicholas  n.,  the 
Imperial  Russian  Charge*  d' Affaires,  Monsieur 
Paul  Mansuroff,  visited,  to-day,  his  Majesty  the 
King,  and,  in  the  name  of  his  exalted  sovereign, 
congratulated  him  on  his  engagement.  Immedi- 
ately after,  the  Charge"  d'Affaires  went  to  visit 
the  Serene  fiance'e  of  the  King,  Madame  Draga, 
to  express  to  her  his  good  wishes.' 


148  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

The  Russians  had  taken  care  throughout  the 
last  fifty  years  to  educate   the   poor    Servians  to 
look  on   Russia  as  the   Holy   Orthodox   country, 
on  the  Tzar  as  the  permanent  protector,  and  the 
only  true  friend  of  the  Servian  people.      At  the 
bidding  of  Russia,  the  predominant  political  party, 
the  Radicals,  did  everything  to  embitter  the   life 
of  King  Milan,   and  drive  him  from  the   throne. 
At  this  critical  moment  for  the  dynasty  and  for 
Servia,    Russia  gave  a   sign   to   her   friends    that 
the   marriage    of    King    Alexander    with    Draga 
Mashin  should  be  accepted.     All   good  Servians, 
all    good    orthodox    people,     who    had    perhaps 
hesitated,   ought    to    follow    the   example   of  the 
great  friend  of  the  Servians,  the  great  orthodox 
Tzar   of  all   the    Russias.     Not  only  did  he  con- 
gratulate  King  Alexander  and  his  fiancee  Draga, 
but  he  formally  accepted  the  sacred  functions  of 
the  "  Koom "  at  their  wedding.     There  was  not 
— nor   could   any   longer   be — the   slightest  doubt 
that    Russia,    in    the  person  of  Tzar  Nicholas  IL, 
highly     approved     of     the     marriage     of     King 
Alexander    with     Draga     Mashin.       More     than 
that,   the  Tzar  had  accepted  to  be  the  principal 
co-operator     and     co-officiator     at     the     church 
ceremony  of  the   wedding.      This   was   regarded 
with  disgust  by  those  Servians  who  firmly  believed 
that     the     fatal     marriage     of    Alexander     with 
Draga  was    entirely  the    work    of   Russia,    which 
thereby   wanted    to   definitely   close   the   door   of 
Servia   to  her  hated    enemy,   Milan,  even    if  she 


KING  ALEXANDER 

In  the  year  of  his  marriage  with  Queen  Draga 


ALEXANDER'S  MARRIAGE  149 

thereby    should    risk    the    ruin    of    the    dynasty 
Obrenovich. 

About  the  same  time,  when  the  Tzar's  demon- 
stration in  favour  of  Alexander's  marriage  with 
Draga  had  broken  the  resistance  of  his  true 
friends,  the  Continental  papers  published  the 
following  letter,  written  by  poor  King  Milan,  to 
his  beloved  son  : — 

"  MY  DEAR  SON, — With  the  best  will  to  oblige 
you,  I  cannot  give  my  consent  to  the  impossible 
marriage  for  which  you  have  decided.  You  ought 
to  know  that,  by  doing  what  you  intend,  you  are 
pushing  Servia  into  an  abyss.  Our  dynasty  has 
sustained  many  a  blow,  and  has  continued  to 
live.  But  this  blow  would  be  so  terrible  that 
the  dynasty  could  never  recover  from  it.  You 
have  still  time  to  think  it  over.  If  your  decision 
should  really  be,  as  you  say,  inflexible,  then, 
nothing  remains  for  me  but  to  pray  to  God  for 
our  fatherland.  I  shall  be  the  first  to  cheer  the 
Government  which  shall  drive  you  from  the 
country,  after  such  a  folly  on  your  part. — Your 
father,  MILAN." 


CHAPTER   XIV 

KING   ALEXANDER   AND    THE    SERVIAN    ARMY 

KING  ALEXANDER  had  no  natural  predisposition  to 
be  a  soldier,  and  he  really  never  was  a  soldier. 
Perhaps  his  short  -  sightedness,  from  which  he 
suffered  from  childhood,  was  the  principal  cause.  In 
his  education  they  tried  to  instil  in  him  the  military 
spirit.  But  with  no  success.  He  was  a  politician 
and  not  a  soldier.  He  disliked  to  wear  the 
uniform  of  an  officer,  and  preferred  to  dress  in 
mufti. 

King  Milan  was  also  far  more  a  politician  than 
a  soldier  ;  but  he  was  aware  of  the  essential  import- 
ance of  the  devotion  of  the  army  to  the  throne  and 
to  the  dynasty,  and  did  everything  to  secure  its 
devotion  and  loyalty.  As  the  Commander-in-Chief 
he  really  did  great  things  for  the  efficiency  of  the 
army,  and  identified  himself  entirely  with  the 
officers,  and  certainly  was  very  popular  with  them. 
King  Alexander  was  never  able  to  inspire  con- 
fidence and  devotion.  During  the  time  King 
Milan  was  at  the  head  of  the  army  it  was  loyal 
to  the  dynasty ;  but  even  though  no  officer  showed 
an  enthusiastic  devotion  to  King  Alexander 

150 


ALEXANDER  AND  THE  SERVIAN  ARMY    151 

personally,    he    was     neither     exactly    liked     nor 
disliked. 

But  since  his  marriage  with  Draga  Mashin 
King  Alexander  became  decidedly  unpopular  with 
the  army.  His  marriage  with  a  simple  Servian 
woman,  who  was  well  known  to  have  been  his 
mistress  for  several  years,  and  about  whom  all  sorts 
of  scandalous  stories  were  in  circulation — particularly 
among  the  officers — alienated  from  him  even  that 
little  sympathy  and  devotion  which  he  possessed 
in  the  army.  His  harsh  and  contemptuous  treat- 
ment of  officers,  who  came  to  the  Palace  to  implore 
him  to  give  up  his  intention  of  marrying  Draga, 
had  offended  many  of  them  bitterly.  And  the 
order  which  he  gave  to  some  of  his  Court  officers, 
as,  for  instance,  to  Colonel  Kumrich,  to  fire  on 
his  father  Milan  and  kill  him  "as  a  mad  dog,"  if  he 
should  attempt  to  cross  into  Servia,  filled  them 
almost  all  with  amazement  and  horror. 

About  the  relations  of  King  Alexander  to  the 
Servian  Officers,  Mr.  Pera  Todorovich  has  published 
a  very  characteristic  conversation  which  he  had  with 
the  King  only  a  few  months  before  the  catastrophe. 
The  King  wanted  to  hear  from  this  devoted  friend 
of  his  father  and  his  own — who  certainly  had  one 
of  the  finest  political  intelligences  among  all  the 
politicians  of  Servia — what  he,  with  his  great  know- 
ledge of  the  people,  thought  about  the  chances  of 
the  Pretender  Prince  Peter  Karageorgevich.  After 
some  talk,  King  Alexander  said  that  the  impressions 
which  his  friend  received  in  the  country,  and  his  own 


152  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

personal  convictions  were,  that  Karageorgevich  had 
no  chance  as  a  really  dangerous  pretender  to  the 
throne  of  Servia. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Sire,"  interrupted  Mr. 
Todorovich,  "what  I  meant  to  say  is  this: 
Karageorgevich  has  just  as  many  chances  as  you 
yourself  give  him!  The  success  of  his  partisans 
is  dependent  on  your  own  want  of  success,  their 
progress  on  your  losses,  mistakes,  and  errors. 
Whatever  you  neglect  or  give  up  they  will  cultivate 
and  try  to  win  to  their  cause ;  who  you  alienate 
they  will  try  at  once  to  draw  towards  their  pretender. 
Owing  to  this,  I  have  the  greatest  anxiety  about 
the  army.  Excuse  me,  your  Majesty,  do  not  take 
it  badly  from  me,  nor  be  annoyed  about  what  I  am 
going  to  say  :  you  are  neglecting  the  army,  and 
you  have,  in  one  sense,  given  it  entirely  up ! " 

The  King  flushed  and  snorted.  He  did  not 
like  it.  Excitedly  he  said — 

"  How  have  I  given  it  up  ?  When,  where,  and 
how  have  I  neglected  it?  ...  That  is  only  an 
artificial  cry.  Come  here,  and  show  me  where  I 
have  neglected  the  army." 

"  Wherein  have  you  neglected  it  ?  .  .  .  I  cannot 
prove  that  better  than  by  asking  you  to  compare 
your  own  treatment  of  the  army  with  the  manner 
in  which  your  father  King  Milan  treated  it. 
Compare  what  he  had  done  for  the  army,'  with 
what  you  have  done,  and  you  will  then  see  clearly 
the  great  difference." 

"  But  what  is  wrong  in  my  treatment  of  the 


ALEXANDER  AND  THE  SERVIAN  ARMY    153 

army  ?  ...  I  do  for  the  army  all  I  can.  I  deprive 
other  branches  of  the  public  service  of  what  is  their 
due,  that  the  army  should  have  more  than  enough. 
If  there  are  promotions,  they  are  in  the  army ; 
if  there  are  decorations  by  orders  and  prizes,  the 
army  has  them ;  and  if  the  public  treasury  has 
money  or  not,  the  army  must  have  it.  If  I  have 
ever  done  or  given  anything  to  anyone  it  has  been 
to  the  army.  And  now  you  want  me  to  do  still 
more.  Tell  me  openly,  express  yourself  clearly, 
wherein  you  find  fault  with  me.  .  .  .  You  mention 
to  me  King  Milan.  But  King  Milan  was  a  clever 
actor.  I  do  not  understand  the  art  of  playing  a 
studied  part ;  it  is  not  in  my  nature." 

He  spoke  with  increasing  agitation,  and  was 
evidently  getting  angry. 

Mr.  Todorovich  found  himself  in  an  awkward 
position.  He  reproached  the  King  for  his  neglect 
of  the  army,  and,  when  challenged  to  point  out 
wherein  consisted  his  neglect,  was  unable  at  a 
moment's  notice  to  do  so.  He  begged  the  King 
to  be  calm  and  to  remember  that  when  his  friends 
criticised  his  conduct  it  was  always  with  the  loyal 
intention  to  serve  his  best  interests.  He  reminded 
the  King  that  somewhere  in  the  Bible  it  is  said 
that  man  does  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by 
spirit,  too.  He  ought  to  remember  that  in  his 
relations  with  the  army.  No  doubt  he  took  care 
that  his  officers  got  promotion  and  that  their  salaries 
were  paid  regularly  ;  but  between  him  and  his  army 
there  was  not  that  entente  which  existed  between 


154  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

King  Milan  and  the  army.  The  King  of  Servia 
and  the  Servian  Army  ought  to  be  one  body  and 
one  soul.  Closeted  in  his  Palace,  he  communicates 
with  a  limited  number  of  higher  officers,  and  the 
great  body  of  officers  are  kept  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  him.  It  seems  to  them  that  the 
King  has  no  personal  interest  in  them,  and  they 
lose  every  personal  interest  in  the  King.  He  then 
mentioned  that  there  were  several  officers  who 
complained  that  their  lawful  rights  had  been  dis- 
regarded, that  they  were  badly  and  unjustly  treated. 
All  such  things  provoke  dissatisfaction,  and,  as  a 
devoted  friend  of  the  dynasty,  he  was  alarmed  when 
he  heard,  positively  asserted,  that  there  was  serious 
dissatisfaction  with  the  King  in  the  army. 

"  Oh,  I  know  well  those  malcontents  in  the 
army  !  "  said  the  King  bitterly.  "  They  are  mostly 
younger  officers,  dissatisfied  in  consequence  of  their 
private  interests.  But  that  is  nothing  extraordinary ; 
it  is  really  inevitable.  In  the  great  mass  of  officers 
everywhere  you  will  find  officers  with  some  failings. 
In  our  army  there  are  young  officers  who  were 
unable  to  pass  successful  examinations ;  there  are 
men  who  prefer  spending  their  time  in  playing  cards 
instead  of  in  earnest  studies ;  there  are  others  who 
were  the  heroes  of  all  sorts  of  adventures.  Then 
there  are  officers  who  have  not  been  correct  in  the 
execution  of  their  official  duties,  and  even  some 
who  have  been  accused,  if  not  convicted,  of  fraud. 
Of  course,  all  such  men  are  dissatisfied.  But  how 
can  I  help  it?  I  should  have  liked,  indeed,  that 


ALEXANDER  AND  THE  SERVIAN  ARMY     155 

all  officers  were  satisfied.  But  among  nearly  two 
thousands  officers,  is  it  an  extraordinary  phenomenon 
that  there  are  some  who  are  not  satisfied  ?  Only, 
that  dissatisfaction  has  not  the  meaning  which  you 
attribute  to  it.  You  exaggerate  its  importance." 

"  In  such  matters  it  is  more  advisable  to  ex- 
aggerate the  danger  than  to  minimise  it,"  answered 
Mr.  Todorovich.  "  May  God  grant  that  I  am 
wrong.  I  do  not  like  to  disturb  your  Majesty,  and 
after  all  it  is  not  my  business  to  submit  to  you 
reports  about  the  temper  among  the  officers.  But, 
believe  me,  Sire,  there  are  certain  proceedings  in 
the  army  which  fill  me  with  great  anxiety.  If  you 
only  knew.  ...  If  you  only  heard " 

The  King  interrupted  Mr.  Todorovich,  saying 
ironically — 

"  Ah,  yes  !  If  I  only  heard  how  certain  officers 
abuse  myself  and  the  Queen,  how  they  treat  us  with 
bad  words,  and  what  menaces  they  utter  against 
us !  Do  you  really  think  that  I  do  not  know  it  ? 
You  are  mistaken.  I  know  it  in  all  and  in  every 
detail." 

"  For  God's  sake,  Sire,  why  then  do  you  treat 
this  state  of  things  with  such  indifference  ?  Why 
do  you  not  call  all  those  dissatisfied  officers  and 
ask  them  to  tell  you  frankly  what  is  the  matter ; 
talk  with  them  heartily  and  thoroughly,  and  when 
you  hear  the  causes  of  their  dissatisfaction  try  to 
remove  the  same,  in  order  that  those  officers  may 
see  that  in  you  they  have  not  only  their  Com- 
mander-in-Chief,  but  their  friend,  their  father  ?  " 


156  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

"  How  little  do  you  know  men ! "  answered 
King  Alexander.  "  By  acting  as  you  suggest  I 
would  only  make  matters  worse.  Those  men  do 
not  understand  kindness  and  generosity.  They 
would  interpret  it  as  a  proof  that  I  am  afraid  of 
them  and  that  I  wish  to  bribe  them.  But  I  will 
find  another  solution  to  the  difficulty.  At  present 
I  yet  hesitate,  simply  out  of  consideration  for  the 
public  opinion  in  Europe,  that  it  should  not  raise 
the  cry :  *  Look,  there  is  a  conspiracy  in  the 
Servian  Army ! '  But  if  the  malcontents  continue 
their  agitation,  then  I  will  quickly  finish  my  account 
with  them." 

He  spoke  with  bitterness  and  with  great 
decision.  He  looked  gloomy  and  agitated.  He 
rose  up  and  gave  his  right  hand  to  his  friend.  Mr. 
Todorovich  was  deeply  moved.  He  bowed  over 
the  King's  hand  and  kissed  it. 

"  May  God  guide  you,  Sire,  in  all  you  do.  Try 
to  do  it  kindly  and  peaceably.  That  is  the  best 
way." 


QUEEN  DRAGA 

In  the  costume  of  the  Servian  Queens  of  the  Middle  Ages 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE   LAST   INTERVIEW   WITH    QUEEN    DRAGA 

ABOUT  a  year  before  the  catastrophe  of  i2th  June 
1903,  a  friend  of  King  Alexander,  Mr.  Pera 
Todorovich,  commenced  to  publish  in  the  serial  of 
his  paper,  Male  Novine,  a  historic  novel  written 
by  himself,  to  which  he  gave  the  title  "  A  Prophecy," 
and  which  had  for  its  foundation  the  prophecies  of 
the  clairvoyant  peasant,  Mata  of  Kremna.  We 
refer  our  readers  to  the  first  chapter  of  this  book. 

The  story  had  not  progressed  very  far,  when 
King  Alexander  called  Mr.  Todorovich  to  the 
Palace  and  asked  him  to  stop  the  publication.  The 
editor  defended  himself,  as  he  naturally  desired  to  go 
on  with  the  story,  which  had  already  nearly  doubled 
the  circulation  of  his  paper,  and  which  the  public 
bought  rapidly  and  with  ever  increasing  interest. 

"You  know,"  said  King  Alexander,  "that  we 
have  enemies,  you  know  how  they  invent  and  spread 
all  sorts  of  mischievous  stories  concerning  myself 
and  the  Queen.  And  now  you,  who  are  our  friend, 
have  found  nothing  better  to  do  but  to  write  about 
a  prophecy  which  is  believed  to  forebode  nothing 
pleasant  about  us." 


157 


158  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Mr.  Todorovich  argued  that,  after  all,  it  was 
better  that  he,  a  proved  friend  of  the  dynasty,  should 
continue  the  Kremna  prophecy  in  a  story  ending 
favourably  for  the  dynasty,  than  that  an  enemy  of 
the  dynasty  should  use  it  against  the  King.  Be- 
sides, he  had  a  plot  by  which  everything  ended  well. 

"  I  do  not  see  how  you  will  be  able  to  end  it 
well,  when  the  prophecy  says  that  my  dynasty  is 
to  perish.  Now,  tell  me  frankly,  is  not  the  end  of 
my  dynasty  foretold  ?  Is  it  not  ?  " 

"  Quite  so,  your  Majesty  ;  but  I  will  deal  with 
my  story  in  such  a  way  that  everything  will  be 
toned  down,  and  end  well,"  said  the  editor,  anxious 
to  continue  his  very  interesting  serial. 

The  King  interrupted  him  rather  sharply  :  "  Oh, 
the  devil,  you  will  soften  and  give  it  a  good  end ! 
...  It  would  have  been  far  better  if  you  had  never 
started  that  unfortunate  story." 

After  a  few  moments  of  silence,  he  continued  in 
a  somewhat  quieter  tone — 

"  After  all,  as  regards  myself,  I  do  not  care  so 
much  for  your  story ;  but  the  Queen  is  very  much 
annoyed  about  it.  You  ought  to  go  to  her  to  ex- 
plain and  excuse  yourself.  She  has  a  bad  opinion 
of  that  serial  story  of  yours,  and  finds  fault  with 
you.  She  spoke  to  me  repeatedly  about  it.  You 
must  go  and  see  her." 

Mr.  Todorovich  did  not  go  at  once  to  see  the 
Queen.  He  was  ill,  and  engaged  otherwise. 
Several  weeks  later  he  was  sufficiently  well  to  ask 
for  an  audience  from  the  Queen. 


LAST  INTERVIEW  WITH  QUEEN  DRAG  A  159 

She  received  him  standing,  and  remained  so  for 
some  time. 

"To  tell  you  frankly,  Mr.  Todorovich,"  began 
Queen  Draga,  "  I  am  angry  with  you.  Formerly 
I  used  to  read  your  Male  Novine  with  great  pleasure 
and  enjoyment ;  but  now,  whenever  I  take  a  fresh 
number  into  my  hands,  I  tremble  with  fear,  lest  I 
find  you  discoursing  on  that  cursed  prophecy ! " 

Surprised  by  such  an  unusual  reception,  Mr. 
Todorovich  did  not  know  what  to  say,  and  was 
silent.  Queen  Draga  continued — 

"  For  myself  personally,  I  do  not  care  so  much. 
I  have  hardened  my  heart  against  all  sorts  of 
annoying  stories.  But  my  heart  bleeds  for  the 
King.  He  worries  about  it  very  much  indeed.  I 
am  afraid  he  will  be  ill.  Every  day  they  fill  his 
head  with  all  sorts  of  reports,  so  that  he  gets  no 
sleep.  I  am  afraid  the  insomnia,  from  which  he  has 
suffered  now  several  months,  will  in  the  end  kill 
him." 

"  For  God's  sake,  your  Majesty,"  Mr.  Todoro- 
vich said  at  last,  "is  it  possible  that  my  story  in 
my  paper  renders  the  King  sleepless  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  say  that  exactly ;  but  only  that  your 
story  disturbs  the  sleep  of  the  King.  But  your 
serial,  the  rumours  and  reports,  all  disagreeable 
and  alarming,  conspire  together  to  disturb  the  King, 
and  to  keep  him  awake.  His  nerves  are  so  excited 
that  he  cannot  get  even  a  short  nap.  How  often 
the  dawn  finds  him  fully  awake,  without  having  had 
a  moment  of  sleep.  Only  when  it  is  full  daylight 


160  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

does  he  get  quieter,  and  falls  asleep.  But  even 
then  his  sleep  is  very  disturbed." 

"  I  beg  pardon,  your  Majesty,  most  humbly," 
answered  Mr.  Todorovich.  "  I  had  not  the  slightest 
idea  that  my  serial  could  possibly  exercise  such 
an  impression  on  the  King.  His  Majesty  even  told 
me  that  he  did  not  care  on  his  own  account,  but 
that  your  Majesty  was  annoyed  about  it ;  and  he 
ordered  me  to  come  and  explain  to  you  my  object, 
and  to  apologise  if  I  had  done  wrong." 

"  Of  course,"  said  the  Queen,  with  a  sad  smile, 
"  the  King  will  not,  either  to  you,  or  to  anyone, 
acknowledge  that  some  things  do  annoy  him  very 
much.  You  remember,  for  instance,  that  at  the 
time  of  his  engagement  with  me,  the  King  was 
angry  with  you  ;  but  I  daresay  you  do  not  know 
why.  I  will  now  tell  you  why.  In  the  number  of 
your  paper  in  which  you  announced  our  engagement, 
and  produced  our  portraits,  immediately  under  them 
you  drew  a  black  mourning  line,  with  several  black 
crosses,  and  wrote  quite  a  dirge  on  the  death  of 
King  Humberto  of  Italy,  his  assassination,  and  his 
funeral.  I  thought  it  was  carelessness,  and  bad 
taste  on  your  part,  to  put,  immediately  below  our 
portraits,  the  story  of  an  assassination.  But  with 
the  King  the  matter  was  much  worse.  He  hates  to 
hear  anything  about  death.  The  moment  anyone 
mentions  an  assassination,  or  simply  death,  he 
changes  colour,  shivers,  and  is  terribly  disturbed,  as 
some  persons  are  when  they  suddenly  see  a  snake. 
It  is  not  fear  ;  it  is  a  sort  of  sickness  ;  it  is  his  nature. 


QUEEN  DRAGA 

In  the  costume  of  old  Servian  Queens 


LAST  INTERVIEW  WITH  QUEEN  DRAG  A   161 

I  have  tried  to  make  him  resist  this  sickly  weakness, 
but  so  far  without  success.  ...  Of  course,  I  tell  you 
this  in  confidence,  as  our  faithful  and  reliable  friend." 

Thereupon  she  sat  down  in  an  arm-chair,  and 
asked  him  to  take  a  chair  near  her. 

"Yes,"  continued  the  Queen,  "because  I  knew 
you  to  be  a  devoted  friend  of  the  King,  I  have 
defended  you  when  the  King  was  very  angry, 
believing  that  you  intentionally  surrounded  our 
portraits  with  crosses  and  a  funeral  dirge,  dealing  with 
death,  assassinations,  blood,  and  a  catastrophe !  " 

A  conversation  followed,  concerning  the  opposi- 
tion which  Mr.  Todorovich,  and  many  other  friends, 
made  to  the  King's  marriage  with  Draga.  She 
told  him  that  she  knew  well  his  attitude  towards  her 
at  that  time ;  but  she  considered  him  now  as  not 
only  the  King's,  but  her  own  friend  too. 

"  Because  I  consider  you  to  be  a  faithful  and  true 
friend,  I  tell  you  the  whole  truth.  The  King  will 
never  acknowledge  to  anyone  that  he  is  annoyed 
and  disturbed,  because  it  may  seem  that  he  is  afraid 
of  something.  But  in  truth  he  is  really  disturbed 
and  very  anxious,  and,  therefore,  the  duty  of  all  his 
friends  is  to  do  what  they  can  for  his  security  and 
for  his  peace.  I  am  sure  you  will  do  so,  and, 
therefore  I  hope  you  will  stop  further  publication 
of  '  A  Prophecy  '  in  your  serial." 

"  I  will  do  so,  your  Majesty,"  answered  Mr. 
Todorovich,  "  but  I  cannot  understand  what  there 
is  in  the  serial  so  alarming  for  you." 

"Ah!  we  are  not  worried  at  all  by  what  has 
ii 


162  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

appeared,"  said  the  Queen,  quite  lively;  "but  with 
what  is  coming  !  The  King  is  afraid  that  the  *  Black 
Prophecy '  will  be  published,  and  I  am  annoyed  that 
you  write  about  it,  just  at  the  moment  when  we 
receive  warnings  and  menaces,  and  when  so  many 
of  our  enemies  wish  us  all  sorts  of  evil." 

"  My  object  in  writing  the  story,"  said  Mr. 
Todorovich,  "  was,  indeed,  to  soften  what  you  call 
1  The  Black  Prophecy,'  to  put  it  in  such  a  form  as 
would  prevent  the  gloomy  impression  which  it 
otherwise  must  produce  among  the  people.  I  spoke 
to  the  King  about  it." 

The  Queen  asked  Mr.  Todorovich,  would  it  be 
possible  to  tone  down  the  prophecy?  She  had 
heard  several  versions,  and  would  like  to  hear  what 
Mr.  Todorovich  knew  about  it. 

Mr.  Todorovich  asked  the  Queen  if  she  had 
read  what  Mr.  Ch.  Mijatovich  had  written  about  it 
in  the  Male  Novine,  as  that  was  the  best  report  as 
yet  published. 

4 'Yes,  I  have  read  it,"  said  the  Queen;  "  but 
Mr.  Mijatovich  broke  off  his  report  at  a  point  when 
it  would  have  been  more  interesting  to  us.  He 
stopped  at  the  ascension  of  King  Alexander  to 
the  throne ;  and  we  are,  of  course,  more  interested 
to  learn  what  had  been  foretold  concerning  us 
personally ;  what  will  happen  to  us,  and  what  will 
come  after  us  !  Therefore,  I  should  like  you  to  tell 
me  all  you  know  about  it.  But  please  do  not 
'  soften '  anything,  do  not  hide  anything  from  me. 
Tell  me  all." 


LAST  INTERVIEW  WITH  QUEEN  DRAG  A    163 

This  is  now  the  story  of  the  Black  Prophecy, 
as  told  Queen  Draga  by  Mr.  Pera  Todorovich— 

"  In  the  village  Kremna,  in  the  district  of 
Ujitza,  lived  in  the  last  century  a  man,  by  name 
Mata.  His  village  and  the  neighbourhood 
considered  him  somewhat  strange,  perhaps  mentally 
deranged,  although  absolutely  a  quiet  and  inoffen- 
sive man. 

"On  28th  May,  Old  Style  (gth  June,  New 
Style),  1868,  he  came  to  the  town  of  Ujitza,  as 
he  often  used  to  do.  But  on  that  day,  in  the 
afternoon,  he  took  up  a  position  in  the  centre  of  the 
principal  business  street,  and  called  out  excitedly — 

"'Oh,  men!  ...  Oh,  brethren!  For  Gods 
sake,  help,  help !  they  are  killing  our  ruler.  They 
are  killing  our  Prince !  Do  not  let  them !  For 
God's  sake,  help !  Look,  they  are  slashing  him 
with  their  yatagans  [long  Turkish  knives].  Oh, 
oh,  look,  look!  Blood!  Oh,  how  horrible!  How 
terrible !  Blood  !  Blood  !  Oh,  woe  to  us !  ... 
Our  Prince  Michael  is  murdered  ! ' 

Here  Queen  Draga  shuddered  visibly. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Todorovich ! "  she  said,  "  indeed 
it  is  terrible.  What  must  that  poor  man  have 
felt,  when,  in  his  madness,  he  thought  he  saw 
that  terrible  scene  ?  " 

Mr.  Todorovich  continued — 

"  A  great  crowd  gathered  around  him,  and 
asked  what  was  the  matter,  and  why  he  shouted 
so.  He  told  them  that  he  had  just  witnessed  the 
assassination  of  the  Prince. 


164  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

"  The  police  came.  They  first  censured  and 
reproved  sharply  the  'madman,'  for  having  caused 
an  obstruction  in  the  street,  and  finally  arrested 
him  for  '  Having  spread  false  and  alarming  news 
about  the  Sovereign.' 

"Next  day  (29th  May,  Old  Style — xoth  June, 
New  Style),  in  the  evening,  an  official  telegram 
arrived  from  Belgrade,  confirming  the  assassina- 
tion of  Prince  Michael  Obrenovich,  in  the 
Koshootnyak  (the  Deer  Park),  near  Belgrade. 
At  first  the  police  suspected  that  Mata  was  in 
the  conspiracy,  but  they  soon  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion that  it  was  impossible,  and  they  let  him 
go  free. 

"  While  the  police  had  put  to  him  several 
questions,  to  elucidate  the  matter,  Mata  told  them 
some  of  his  visions,  of  which  several  had  been 
already  fulfilled ;  and  I  believe  that  others  will  not 
be  fulfilled  if  God  is  the  ruler  of  our  destinies 
and  not  Satan." 

The  Queen  listened,  evidently  deeply  moved. 
She  was  pale,  and  looked  exceedingly  sad.  With 
a  low  and  somewhat  shaky  voice,  she  said — 

"  Please,  I  pray  you,  continue.  What  has  he 
told  them  about  future  events  ?  " 

"Well,  your  Majesty,  the  man  was  later  on 
brought  to  Belgrade.  He  was  subjected  to  all 
sorts  of  questions  at  the  Home  Office,  where  his 
statements  were  put  down  on  paper.  King  Milan 
himself  had  a  talk  with  him.  So  far  as  I  have 
been  informed,  this  is  what  he  said :  '  Prince 


LAST  INTERVIEW  WITH  QUEEN  DRAGA   165 

Michael  will  be  assassinated,  and  he  will  be  suc- 
ceeded by  a  relative,  who  will  be  to  a  certain 
extent  a  torment  for  the  country ;  he  will  gain  a 
Royal  crown,  and  under  his  reign  the  country  will 
be  enlarged  and  strengthened.  He  will  be  a 
King,  but  will  have  many  misfortunes.  He  will 
die  in  the  prime  of  life.  ...  He  will  have  an 
only  son,  who  will  be  still  more  unfortunate,  dying 
very  young,  indeed,  before  his  thirtieth  year.' ' 

The  Queen  sighed  deeply. 

"O  God!  Is  it  possible?  Before  his 
thirtieth  year?  Oh,  Mr.  Todorovich,  has  the 
man  really  said  so  ? " 

"Your  Majesty  has  ordered  me  to  tell  all 
and  everything,  and  hide  nothing,"  answered  Mr. 
Todorovich. 

"  Oh  yes.     Please  go  on." 

"  '  He  will  die  young,  and  with  him  his  candle 
will  be  blown  out ! ' ] 

The  Queen  interrupted  Mr.  Todorovich,  by 
asking  what  he  meant  by  "his  candle  will  be 
blown  out." 

"  I  think,"  answered  Mr.  Todorovich,  "he  meant 
that  the  candle  which  we  light  and  keep  burning 
on  the  Saint  Patrons  days  of  our  families  will 
burn  no  longer.  In  other  words,  the  house  of 
Obrenovich  will  cease  to  exist !  " 

"  Terrible ! "  and  the  Queen  again  shuddered, 
and  looked  most  unhappy.  "  But  please  go  on."  • 

"'And  after  his  candle  shall  be  blown  out, 
another  house  will  come  to  reign  in  Servia.  But 


166  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

not  for  long.  Internal  struggles  and  bloodshed, 
revolts  and  conflicts  will  take  place,  which  will 
cause  a  foreign  army  to  enter  into  and  occupy 
Servia.  That  foreign  Power  will  subject  the 
Servian  people  to  great  oppression.  There  will 
come  such  sad  and  hard  times  that  those  who  are 
living,  when  they  pass  a  churchyard,  will  say: 
"  Oh,  graves,  open,  that  we  may  lie  down  and 
rest.  Oh,  how  happy  you  are  who  have  died, 
and  are  saved  from  our  troubles,  misfortunes  and 
shame !  "  But  after  many  years  of  great  sufferings, 
a  man  will  appear  in  the  midst  of  the  nation, 
will  raise  it  up,  and  lead  it  against  the  foreign 
oppressors ;  and  will  succeed  in  liberating  and 
uniting  all  the  Servians  into  one  and  the  same 
free  and  independent  State.  Then  will  commence 
an  epoch  of  contented  and  happy  life,  so  much 
so,  that  people  passing  the  churchyards  will  say 
to  those  who  are  dead  :  "  Rise  up,  dead  ones,  to 
see  what  a  happy  life  we  live  now." 

There  Mr.  Todorovich  stopped  his  story  of 
the  "  Black  Prophecy."  Queen  Draga  sat  in  her 
arm-chair,  pale,  sad,  lost  in  thought,  staring  at  a 
point  of  the  soft  carpet  of  the  room.  It  seemed 
as  if  she  had  been  turned  into  a  statue. 

After  some  time  spent  in  silence,  which  her 
friend  dared  not  interrupt,  she  raised  her  head, 
stared  straight  at  Mr.  Todorovich  for  some  time, 
then,  with  a  deep  sigh,  she  whispered — 

"A  terrible  prophecy!  .  .  .  Simply  horrible! 
...  He  will  die  before  his  thirtieth  year,  and 


LAST  INTERVIEW  WITH  QUEEN  DRAG  A    167 

he  is  now  in  his  twenty-seventh  year!  He  has, 
then,  only  three  years  to  live !  Oh,  can  it  be 
true?" 

She  then  bent  her  head  low,  covered  her  face 
with  both  hands,  and  apparently  wept. 

Mr.  Todorovich  pitied  her.  Deeply  moved 
and  silent,  he  tried  to  think  of  something  that 
could  give  her  some  consolation.  But  he — other- 
wise one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  clever  men 
— could  not  hit  upon  anything.  Then  he  re- 
membered yet  one  or  two  details  from  the 
"Black  Prophecy." 

"Your  Majesty,  there  is  yet  something  that 
should  interest  you,"  he  said. 

"Yet  something?"  asked  the  Queen,  raising 
her  head;  "what  is  it?" 

"  It  is  this,"  continued  Mr.  Todorovich.  "The 
prophet  added  that  the  man  who  will  appear  in 
the  midst  of  the  people  to  lead  them  to  liberty 
and  independence,  will  be  in  some  way  a  descend- 
ant of  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty.  He  used  a  figure 
to  explain  himself.  'It  will  be,'  he  said,  'as  if  a 
mighty  oak  tree  has  been  cut  quite  near  the 
ground,  but  after  some  time,  and  suddenly  from 
its  roots,  spreading  under  the  ground,  a  new 
branch,  at  some  distance  from  the  original  oak, 
pushes  up  through  the  earth,  and  grows  to  be  a 
new  oak  tree.' ' 

The  Queen  sadly  shook  her  head. 

"  Very  little  consolation  for  us  in  that,  dear 
Mr.  Todorovich." 


168  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Mr.  Todorovich  continued — 

"It  is  strange  that  this  extraordinary  peasant 
has  foretold  not  only  the  increase  of  Servia's 
territory,  but  even  the  invention  of  the  telephone." 

"  Indeed!"  said  the  Queen,  visibly  surprised. 
"  I  have  not  heard  that  mentioned  by  anyone." 

4 'Yes,  indeed!  In  his  depositions,  which  have 
been  written  down  by  a  secretary,  he  said  among 
other  things :  '  The  King,  sitting  in  Belgrade, 
will  converse  with  the  Prefects  of  Ujitza, 
Negotin,  Losnitza,  Nish,  Pirot,  Vranya!'  The 
official,  who  was  writing  down  his  statements, 
looked  at  him,  surprised,  and  said :  '  Nish, 
Pirot,  Vranya,  are  not  in  Servia,  but  in  Turkey ! ' 
'  They  are  now  in  Turkey,  but  then  they  will  be 
in  Servia,'  answered  the  peasant.  'And  you 
probably  mean  the  King  will  communicate  with 
his  Prefects  by  telegraph  ? '  asked  the  official. 
4  No,  no,'  said  the  prophet ;  '  not  by  telegraph, 
but  they,  although  at  great  distance,  will  talk  in 
their  own  voice,  just  so  as  we  two  talk,  and  hear 
each  other.'  'That  is  impossible!'  exclaimed  the 
official.  '  Now  it  is  impossible ;  but  then  it  will 
be  quite  possible,  and  the  people  will  be  able  to 
talk  with  each  other  at  great  distances.' ' 

"  It  is  extraordinary,"  said  the  Queen.  "  That 
detail  I  have  not  known.  It  makes  me  only  more 
unhappy,  because,  when  this  man  was  able  to  fore- 
tell so  exactly  the  accession  of  new  territories  to 
Servia,  and  even  the  invention  of  the  telephone, 
why,  then,  should  he  be  wrong  on  other  points  ? 


LAST  INTERVIEW  WITH  QUEEN  DRAGA    169 

But  .  .  .  after  all  there  is  one  important  question  : 
Is  it  really  true  that  such  a  man  did  exist,  and  that 
he  really  said  all  those  things  which  he  is  now 
reported  to  have  said  ?  You  know  what  happens 
in  our  days,  and  in  everyday  life ;  someone  says 
only  one  word,  and  by  the  evening  he  is  reported 
to  have  said  ten." 

"That  is  quite  possible,  your  Majesty,"  said 
Mr.  Todorovich.  "  Let  us  hope  that  he  is  not 
correctly  reported,  at  least  in  that  part  concerning 
the  King,  and  that — even  if  he  had  been  correctly 
reported — his  statements  concerning  the  King  shall, 
by  God's  mercy,  not  be  fulfilled.  But  concerning 
the  authenticity  of  his  prophecy  I  have  heard 
that,  in  the  Home  Office,  or  at  the  Foreign  Office, 
the  official  acts  are  kept  in  two  special  bundles  ;  and 
that  on  one  occasion,  at  the  order  of  the  King 
Milan,  they  were  brought  here  to  the  Palace  for  his 
perusal." 

The  Queen  said  that  she  would  try  and  get 
those  papers,  to  see  them  for  herself ;  but  that  she 
must  do  it  without  the  knowledge  of  the  King, 
because  he  would  be  still  more  disturbed  if  he  were 
to  read  the  prophet's  statements  from  the  original 
depositions. 

Then,  as  suddenly  she  remembered  something, 
she  said — 

"  But,  Mr.  Todorovich,  you  never  mentioned 
if  there  is  anything  about  me  personally  in  that 
1  Black  Prophecy.'  Yet  some  people  have  told  me 
that  there  is." 


170  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

"  So  far  as  I  know,  your  Majesty,  the  clairvoyant 
of  Kremna  said  only  that :  '  The  King  will  marry  a 
Servian  lady,  his  own  subject,  and  that  she  will 
share  with  him  his  destiny.' ' 

"  Oh,  my  God !  What  I  am  praying  for  is  to 
share  with  him  his  destiny!  It  seems  to  me  the 
poison  would  be  sweet  to  me  if  only  I  could  drink 
it  with  him  !  " 

After  yet  some  conversation  concerning  the 
possibility  of  foreseeing  events  so  long  a  time  before 
they  happened,  and  after  his  advice  that  she  should 
order  that  all  the  official  papers  concerning  the 
"Black  Prophecy "  should  be  brought  to  her,  Mr. 
Todorovich  took  leave  from  the  unhappy  Queen. 

Neither  Queen  Draga  nor  the  devoted  friend  of 
the  dynasty,  Mr.  Todorovich,  had  the  slightest  fore- 
boding that  the  fulfilment  of  the  "  Black  Prophecy  " 
was  so  imminent. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

THE   CONSPIRACY 

SOME  fifteen  years  ago  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
a  young  and  able  ex-officer  of  a  great  Continental 
army.  I  cannot  publish  his  name,  but  will  call  him 
4 'Count  Y."  He  was  very  restless,  very  active, 
and  energetic.  He  delighted  in  political  intrigue, 
and  was  really  a  born  amateur  detective.  He  was 
a  member  of  several  secret  societies,  and  was  in 
touch  with  the  Russian  Nihilists,  the  Bulgarian 
Committadjis,  the  Albanian  Ligueists,  the  German 
Socialists,  and  the  Paris  Anarchists. 

One  of  his  sweethearts  was  nothing  more  than 
a  maid  in  the  service  of  the  Royal  family  of  Italy  ; 
another  of  his  sweethearts  was  a  nurse  in  the 
Russian  Embassy  to  France,  and  he  corresponded 
with  them.  At  the  same  time,  in  Paris,  London, 
and  Vienna,  he  had  access  to  the  best  circles  of 
society. 

He  was  quite  a  psychological  and  political 
puzzle,  and  I  became  highly  interested  in  him.  He 
had  great  confidence  in  me,  and  often  told  me 
things  which  looked  very  much  like  State  secrets, 
or,  at  least,  like  secrets  of  the  various  secret  societies. 


171 


172  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

His  stories  were  not  always  confirmed  by  facts,  but 
often  they  were. 

In  the  summer  of  the  year  1901  he  communi- 
cated to  me  in  some  detail  how  two  of  the  Great 
Powers  were  working  to  send  away  King  Alex- 
ander, and  to  replace  him  on  the  throne  by  Prince 
Peter  Karageorgevich.  I  could  not  believe  the 
story,  and  did  not  report  it  to  Belgrade. 

In  the  summer,  1902,  he  met  me  by  chance  in 
the  British  Museum,  and  told  me  that  the  agents  of 
a  certain  Power  had  approached  three  influential 
Servian  officers  during  their  cure  at  Carlsbad  that 
summer,  with  the  suggestion  to  join  in  a  military 
pronunciamento  against  King  Alexander.  The 
officers  refused  to  enter  into;  the  conspiracy,  but 
promised  not  to  allow  the  soldiers  to  fire  on  the 
people  if  they  should  revolt  against  the  King.  I 
reported  to  King  Alexander  in  a  private  letter  what 
I  had  been  told,  and  by  whom,  advising  him  at  the 
same  time  not  to  attach  too  much  importance  to  the 
communication. 

In  the  autumn  of  1902  that  gentleman  made  a 
special  appointment  to  meet  me  in  town  (he  lived 
then  out  of  town),  and  communicated  to  me  that 
certain  papers  had  been  exchanged  between  a 
certain  pretender  and  a  certain  Great  Power,  and 
that,  according  to  his  information,  the  doom  of 
King  Alexander  was  sealed.  I  personally  could 
hardly  believe  it ;  but  I  still  considered  it  my  duty 
to  make  a  report  to  King  Alexander. 

In  the  very  beginning   of  1903    my  informant 


THE  CONSPIRACY  173 

came  to  the  Servian  Legation  to  tell  me  that  one  of 
the  plans  (there  being  several  plans)  of  the  con- 
spirators was  to  organise  a  public  meeting,  so  that 
the  crowd  would  go  en  masse  apparently  with  loyal 
intentions  past  the  Palace,  then  rush  into  the  Palace, 
overwhelm  the  guards,  and  assassinate  King 
Alexander.  Again  I  communicated  to  the  King 
what  I  had  heard,  advising  him  to  take  precautionary 
measures,  although  this  particular  communication 
might  not  have  any  real  foundation. 

In  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  my  informant 
was  evidently  far  better  informed  than  I  could  have 
ever  credited  him. 

In  the  light  of  those  events,  certain  impressions 
which  I  received  in  Vienna  in  the  first  days  of 
January  1902,  had  quite  a  peculiar  significance. 
Travelling  from  Belgrade  to  the  Tyrol,  I  stopped  a 
few  days  in  Vienna,  and  saw  some  of  the  most 
influential  personages  of  the  Austrian  political 
circles.  I  was  not  surprised  to  learn  that  they  had 
been  disgusted  by  the  conduct  of  King  Alexander 
on  the  question  of  his  marriage.  But  I  was  struck 
by  certain  impressions,  which  led  me  to  suspect  that 
the  question  of  replacing  King  Alexander  by  Prince 
Peter  Karageorgevich  was  completely  arranged 
between  Russia  and  Austria.  I  was  plainly  told 
that  Austria  could  never  more  believe  the  word  of 
Alexander,  and  that  if  the  Servians  were  to  choose 
Peter  Karageorgevich  to-morrow  for  their  King,  or 
anyone  else,  excepting  the  Prince  of  Montenegro, 
Austria  would  acknowledge  the  free  choice  of  the 


174  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Servian  people.  Of  course,  I  do  not  mean  to 
insinuate  that  Austria  and  Russia  knew,  and  much 
less  that  they  approved,  the  methods  by  which  the 
Servian  conspirators  proposed  to  make  the  change 
on  the  Servian  throne.  But  already,  towards  th£ 
end  of  1901,  they  must  have  come  to  an  under- 
standing concerning  the  possible,  or  even  probable, 
change  on  the  throne  of  Servia. 

Queen  Draga,  in  the  last  interview  which  Mr. 
Todorovich  had  with  her,  not  many  days  before 
her  assassination,  told  the  King's  friend  that  both 
she  and  the  King  had  received  for  some  time 
information  that  a  conspiracy  against  them  was  in 
preparation,  and  that  many  officers,  especially  young 
ones,  had  entered  into  it.  Some  of  these  com- 
munications were  made  by  anonymous  letters, 
others  confidentially  in  a  personal  interview. 
Some  of  the  informers  asserted  that  the  conspiracy 
had  been  organised  and  was  directed  from  abroad, 
others  that  it  had  started  spontaneously  with  a 
certain  group  of  officers.  The  Queen  had  the 
impression  that  the  conspiracy  was  organised  by 
someone  outside  Servia,  who  seemed  to  be  an 
experienced  conspirator.  To  the  young  officers 
drawn  into  the  conspiracy  it  had  been  cleverly 
suggested  that  they  would  act  as  patriots  and 
heroes  if  they  were  to  deliver  the  country  from 
such  an  unworthy  King  and  Queen. 

It  seems  the  conspiracy  was  definitely  organised 
shortly  after  the  return  of  Colonel  Mashin  from 
Russia,  in  the  autumn  of  1902.  The  Colonel 


THE  CONSPIRACY  175 

placed  himself  at  its  head,  taking  as  his  principal 
coadjutors  Lieutenant-Colonel  Damyan  Popovich 
and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mishich.  These  three 
superior  officers  were  in  secret  communication 
with  another  body,  composed  of  civilians,  enemies 
for  personal  reasons  of  Alexander  and  Draga,  or 
inveterate  enemies  of  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty, 
like  Lyuba  Zivkovich,  Stoyan  Protich,  Atza 
Stanoyevich,  Nicola  Hadji-Thoma.  At  the  head 
of  this  civilian  body  of  conspirators  was  Mr. 
Genchich,  formerly  the  Home  Minister  of  King 
Alexander,  but  who,  after  the  marriage  of  the  King 
with  Draga,  was  condemned,  for  an  open  letter  to 
the  King,  in  which  he  criticised  his  conduct,  to 
seven  years'  imprisonment,  although  he  was  re- 
leased in  the  second  year  of  his  confinement. 
Their  object  was  not  only  to  annihilate  the 
Obrenovich  Dynasty,  but  to  put  on  the  throne  the 
Karageorgevich  Dynasty. 

Once  decided  to  murder  King  Alexander  and 
Queen  Draga,  the  only  question  that  remained  was 
when  and  where  to  do  it. 

I  do  not  know  if  the  incidents  of  the  6th  (i9th) 
March  1903  had  anything  to  do  with  the  attempt 
to  kill  the  Royal  couple.  A  meeting  of  shop 
assistants  and  students  was  arranged  to  take  place, 
to  protest  against  certain  police  measures  concern- 
ing shop  assistants.  Somebody  suggested  that  the 
whole  meeting  should  proceed  to  pass  the  Royal 
Palace.  A  great  crowd  moved  through  the 
principal  streets  towards  the  Palace.  But  thirty 


176  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

yards  from  the  Palace  the  crowd  was  stopped  by 
the  police,  and  when  it  refused  to  disperse  was 
fired  on !  According  to  the  official  reports  only  a 
few  people  were  killed  and  wounded.  The  opposi- 
tion papers  again  exaggerated  the  number.  I  say 
I  do  not  know  if  those  incidents  have  not  been  a 
cover  for  a  planned  attack  on  the  Palace  and  the 
Royal  couple.  They  looked,  in  some  respects  at 
least,  very  much  like  the  plan  which  was  com- 
municated to  me  by  Count  Y.  only  two  months 
before. 

But  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  Palm 
Sunday,  6th  (iQth)  April,  was  really  selected  for  the 
execution  of  the  murderous  attack  on  the  Royal 
couple.  Under  the  reign  of  the  Obrenovichs  Palm 
Sunday  was  a  national  fete  day,  in  commemoration 
of  the  second  and  successful  rising  of  the  Servians 
under  Milosh  Obrenovich  against  the  Turks.  To 
the  church  ceremony  in  the  Cathedral  in  Belgrade 
was  added,  since  1868,  a  short  religious  and 
military  ceremony  in  the  Citadel  of  Belgrade,  in 
commemoration  of  the  delivery  of  that  fortress  by 
the  Turks  to  Prince  Michael  Obrenovich  on  the 
Palm  Sunday  of  1867.  In  the  Citadel  a  kiosk  was 
raised,  in  which  every  year  a  Te  Deiim  was  sung 
in  the  presence  of  the  King,  State  dignitaries, 
officers,  citizens,  and  a  part  of  the  Belgrade 
garrison.  According  to  what  the  Queen  told  Mr. 
Todorovich,  a  day  or  two  before  Palm  Sunday 
the  King  received  information  that  fifteen  young 
officers  had  sworn  to  surround  him  on  that  day  in 


THE  CONSPIRACY  1*7  7 

the  kiosk  in  the  fortress,  and  to  cut  him  and  the 
Queen  to  pieces  with  their  swords.  The  kiosk 
would  have  to  be  surrounded  on  all  four  sides  by 
the  soldiers  under  the  command  of  officers  taking 
part  in  the  conspiracy.  In  consequence  of  this 
information  the  King  and  Queen  did  not  go  either 
to  the  Cathedral  or  to  the  fortress.  As  it  happened 
to  be  raining  that  day,  the  official  and  semi-official 
papers  explained  that  the  Royal  couple  could  not 
attend  the  Palm  Sunday  celebration  on  account  of 
the  bad  weather. 

Shortly  afterwards  the  foundation  stone  of  the 
Home  of  Arts  in  Belgrade  was  to  be  laid,  and  the 
King  and  the  Queen  were  to  perform  the  ceremony, 
to  which  they  both  looked  forward  with  pleasure. 
But  they  received,  just  in  time,  a  communication 
that  certain  officers  had  decided  to  murder  them ! 
The  communication  came  from  a  man  who  received 
full  credence.  The  King  and  the  Queen  at  the 
last  moment  gave  up  going  to  the  ceremony,  and 
in  that  way  frustrated  the  second  plan  of  the 
conspirators. 

The  Queen  told  Mr.  Todorovich  that  the 
conspirators  intended  to  murder  them  one  evening 
while  they  were  in  the  circus ;  but  at  the  last 
moment  they  gave  the  intention  up,  finding  that 
very  many  gendarmes  were  placed  around  the 
circus  who  would  fire  on  them,  and,  as  the  circus 
was  always  full,  many  innocent  people  would  be 
sacrificed. 

Adjoining  the  southern  carriage  road,  by  which 

12 


178  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

the  carriages  generally  leave  the  Palace,  is  a  large 
building,  of  which  the  first  ground  floor  is  occupied 
by  the  Home  Office,  and  the  first  floor  by  the 
Foreign  Office.  The  principal  salon  of  the  latter 
has  a  balcony,  which  is  walled  in,  but  cut  at  short 
intervals,  just  as  if  it  was  prepared  for  fighting,  or 
firing  down  on  the  principal,  but  comparatively 
narrow,  road.  The  King  and  the  Queen  cannot 
go  out  or  drive  from  the  Palace  without  passing 
that  building.  The  conspirators  thought  that  the 
balcony  of  the  Foreign  Office  formed  an  excellent 
ambush,  from  which  to  fire  on  the  King  and  the 
Queen.  Four  of  them  had  been  selected  by  lot. 
A  servant  of  the  Foreign  Office  was  approached 
with  a  heavy  bribe,  to  take  in  secretly  their 
rifles,  and  allow  them  to  hide  themselves  on  the 
balcony.  But  again  one  of  the  conspirators  had 
pity  on  the  young  King,  and  sent  him  information 
anonymously.  The  leaders  of  the  conspiracy  were, 
on  the  other  hand,  informed  by  someone  in  the 
Palace  that  suspicious  orders  had  been  given 
to  the  police  to  watch  the  balcony.  They  at  once 
recognised  that  the  plan  was  betrayed,  and  gave 
it  up. 

It  was  evident  not  only  that  a  conspiracy  was 
in  permanent  existence,  but  that  the  conspirators 
were  determined  to  murder  the  King  and  Queen. 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  year  1903  they  lived 
like  two  persons  condemned  to  death,  expecting 
every  moment  to  see  the  executioners  enter  their 
cells.  They  had  no  peace,  no  rest ;  they  were  in 


THE  CONSPIRACY  179 

a  permanent  nervous  excitement,  which  ended  by 
a  general  prostration.  Never  in  the  history  of  the 
world  have  a  King  and  Queen  undergone  more 
terrible  penalty ;  during,  at  least,  the  last  five 
months  of  their  life,  they  suffered  as  if  they  had 
been  stretched  and  tortured  on  a  rack. 

When  Queen  Draga  confided  all  this  suffering 
to  the  faithful  and  sympathetic  Todorovich,  this 
friend  of  the  dynasty  exclaimed — 

"  But  if  all  those  informations  which  the  King 
received  were  true,  then  the  situation  is  simply 
horrible ! " 

"  Of  course  it  is  horrible !"  said  the  Queen. 
"  But  there  is  something  that  wears  us  and  exhausts 
our  strength  more  than  the  danger — it  is  the  un- 
certainty. You  just  said  yourself,  'If  all  those 
informations  were  true ! '  That  is  just  what  tor- 
ments the  King  more  than  anything  else.  We 
have  asked  ourselves  all  these  months  :  '  Can  it  be 
true?  Is  it  possible  that  the  Servian  officers 
thirst  for  the  blood  of  their  King  and  Queen  ? ' 
This  uncertainty  paralyses  the  King's  usual  energy 
and  decisiveness,  and  cripples  his  action.  When  we 
consult  our  devoted  friends  about  it,  we  find  that 
everyone  has  some  special  opinion  of  the  matter. 
Some  friends  come  and  exclaim  in  great  alarm  : 
'  For  God's  sake,  why  are  you  waiting  ?  Do  you 
not  see  that  you  are  in  imminent  danger  of  your 
lives  ? '  A  few  days  since  a  friend  came  to  tell 
us  how,  in  the  circle  of  the  conspirators,  someone 
drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  of  late  the  King 


180  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

hardly  ever  left  the  Palace,  whereupon  some  of 
them  remarked :  '  Yes,  the  bear  has  withdrawn 
into  his  cave ;  but  we  will  go  and  find  him  there. 
.  .  .'  We  had  such  a  case  as  this.  A  young 
officer  came  and  insisted  to  see  the  King  privately. 
Admitted  into  the  King's  presence,  he,  in  the 
greatest  agitation,  trembling  and  shaking,  con- 
fessed that  he  was  one  of  the  conspirators,  that  he 
had  given  his  word  of  honour  to  his  comrades  not 
to  separate  himself  from  them  ;  but,  overwhelmed 
with  irresistible  pity  for  the  youth  of  the  King,  he 
came  to  implore  him  to  try  to  save  himself.  But 
then,  General  Milovan  (the  Minister  of  War), 
and  General  Tzintzar  -  Markovich  (the  Premier), 
characterised  the  story  of  the  young  officer  as  an 
invention,  as  a  speculation  to  get  promotion,  and 
such  like.  They  were  sure  that  the  young  man 
had  not  understood  what  his  superior  officer  had 
told  him.  They  even  suggested  that  he  ought  to 
be  punished  for  spreading  false  news,  and  alarming 
the  King.  Especially  General  Tzintzar- Markovich 
— and  he  ought  to  know — assured  the  King  that 
it  is  simply  impossible  that  any  officer  conspired 
against  the  King. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  mention  any  names.  But  to 
show  you  what  confusion  prevails  in  the  Palace  and 
around  us,  I  will  tell  you  one  thing.  You  know 
that  Lieutenant  -  Colonel  Mika  Naoumovich  is 
among  all  the  equerries  at  the  Court  the  greatest 
favourite  of  the  King.  If  the  King  could  take  off 
his  own  head,  he  would  trust  it  to  the  keeping  of 


THE  CONSPIRACY  181 

his  faithful  Mika.  You  know  probably  that  Mika 
and  Boza  (the  Prefect  of  the  Police)  are  chums 
and  bosom  friends.  Well,  Boza  told  the  King  that 
he  had  reasons  to  suspect  the  loyalty  of  his  friend 
Mika,  and  implored  the  King  to  send  him  away 
from  the  Palace.  But  the  first  Aide-de-Camp, 
General  Laza,  and  the  Premier,  General  Tzintzar- 
Markovich,  laughed  at  the  suspicion  as  simply 
ludicrous.  Now,  what  is  the  poor  King  to  do, 
when  his  most  trusted  friends  give  him  totally 
opposite  advice  ? 

"Yes,"  continued  the  Queen;  "some  of  our 
best  friends  come  to  the  King  and  say  :  '  Why  are 
you  waiting  ?  Do  you  not  see  clearly  the  nest  of 
the  conspiring  snakes  ? '  The  moment  the  King 
prepares  to  act,  other  not  less  faithful  and  trusted 
friends  rush  in :  *  For  God's  sake,  Sire,  don't ! 
You  will  strike  innocent  men,  and  then  you  will 
provoke  a  terrible  misfortune.'  Some  cry  :  '  Don't 
wait ! '  Others  again  :  '  Do  wait ! '  The  King 
gets  perplexed.  One  day  he  follows  the  advice  of 
one  group  of  friends,  and  several  suspected  officers 
have  been  arrested.  The  next  day  he  listens  to 
the  other  group,  and  then  orders  the  release  of  the 
arrested  officers.  Such  a  procedure  has  spoilt 
everything,  and  taught  the  conspirators  to  be  more 
careful.  The  faithful  and  loyal  officers  are  now 
systematically  avoided  by  the  conspirators,  and 
they  themselves  (the  loyal  officers),  having  seen 
that  by  their  loyalty  to  their  King  they  have  only 
succeeded  in  compromising  themselves  with  their 


182  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

comrades,  find  it  better  to  be  silent.  As  I  men- 
tioned, this  uncertainty,  this  confusion,  this 
perplexity,  is  quite  a  curse  to  us.  It  prevents  the 
King  having  rest  and  sleep. 

"The  King  himself,"  continued  the  Queen,  "is 
sometimes  cheerful ;  but  of  late  that  is  less  and  less 
frequent.  There  are  days  and  nights  in  which  he 
is  overwhelmed  by  sadness,  anxiety,  and  something 
like  fear.  Some  nights  he  sits  in  his  working  room 
the  whole  night,  lost  in  deep  thought.  I  go  to  him, 
and  try  to  cheer  him  up,  and  to  induce  him  to  go 
to  bed.  But  it  is  no  use.  Often,  in  the  morning, 
I  find  him  sitting,  fully  dressed,  in  his  arm-chair. 
Sometimes  he  comes  to  my  bedroom,  draws  a  chair 
near  the  bed,  takes  my  hand  in  his,  and  sits  pale 
and  silent  for  a  long  time.  One  night  he  came  to 
me  just  when  I  was  beginning  to  doze.  He  took 
my  hand  in  his,  kissed  it,  and  said  with  a  very, 
very  sad  voice:  *  Queen  of  Servia,  whom  hatest 
thou?'  'What  do  you  mean,  Sasha?'  'Whom 
hatest  thou,  Queen  of  Servia  ? '  '  Oh,  my  dear 
Sasha,  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  Why  should 
I  hate  anyone  ?  I  do  not  hate  anyone  ! '  '  Nor  do 
I  hate  anyone.  And  yet  we  are  hated!  And 
hated  just  by  those  to  whom  we  have  done  so 
many  kindnesses.  And  why  do  they  hate  me? 
Is  it  because  I  am  the  son  of  a  King,  and  King 
myself,  and  not  the  son  of  a  fisherman,  born  in  a 
hut  somewhere  on  the  Danube  ?  But  if  my  King- 
ship is  my  crime,  what  have  you  done  to  them, 
you  a  weak  woman  ? '  He  was  pale,  his  hands 


THE  CONSPIRACY  183 

were   cold    as   ice,    and   tears   were    rolling   down 
his  face." 

This  was  the  last  interview  of  Queen  Draga 
with  a  journalist,  who  was,  at  the  same  time,  an 
intimate  friend. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   ASSASSINATION 

JUNE  loth,  1903,  was  a  sunny  and  a  very  sultry  day 
in  Belgrade. 

A  distinguished  friend  of  mine  went,  about 
1 1  o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  the  Palace  to  see  the 
King.  At  that  hour  a  company  of  King's  Own 
Guardsmen — all  picked  and  handsome  young  men 
— under  the  command  of  Captain  Panayotovich, 
was  marching  with  drums  and  bugles  into  the 
Courtyard  of  the  Old  Palace,  to  replace  a  company 
of  infantry  which  was  doing  the  duties  of  the  Palace 
guard  since  the  previous  day. 

Captain  Panayotovich  had  the  reputation  of  an 
excellent  and  brave  officer,  devoted  with  absolute 
loyalty  to  his  duty  and  to  his  King. 

My  friend  went  to  the  waiting-room  of  the  Old 
Palace.  The  equerry  doing  duty  on  that  day  was 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Michael  (otherwise  called  Mika) 
Naoumovich.  His  father  was  well  known  as  a 
devoted  partisan  of  Karageorgevich,  but  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Michael  Naoumovich  was  considered  as 
entirely  devoted  to  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty.  King 
Milan  patronised  him  very  much,  and  King  Alex- 

184 


COLONEL  ALEXANDER  MASHIN 


THE  ASSASSINATION  185 

ander  not  only  took  him  for  one  of  his  equerries,  but 
repeatedly  saved  him  from  awkward  situations,  and 
paid  his  debts.  Only  a  few  days  before,  King 
Alexander  gave  him  20,000  dinars  (^800)  to  pay  off 
his  latest  debts.  As  an  officer  he  was  reputed  to 
be  an  able  commander ;  but  as  a  man  he  was  of 
dissolute  habits,  a  gambler  and  heavy  drinker.  At 
that  very  moment  he  was  a  traitor  to  his  King  and 
benefactor.  When  my  friend  entered  the  small 
waiting-room  he  found  Naoumovich's  big  and 
heavy  form  seemingly  quite  collapsed  in  an  arm- 
chair. 

He  rose  up  slowly,  with  evident  effort,  to  greet 
my  friend.  He  was  quite  yellow,  evidently 
depressed,  and  in  bad  spirits.  In  violation  of  the 
regulations,  he  came  unshaved  that  day  to  his  duty 
in  the  Palace.  My  friend  thought  he  looked  as  if 
he  had  spent  the  previous  night  in  debauchery,  and 
had  left  home  without  washing  his  face.  He 
seemed  somewhat  dazed  and  troubled. 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  you,  Colonel  ?  "  asked 
my  friend. 

"  I  am  ill,  very  ill,"  he  answered.  "  I  am 
suffering  from  a  fever,  which  I  am  trying  to  drive 
away  by  strong  cognac.  Shall  we  take  a  glass 
together  ? " 

He  knew  what  was  going  to  happen  that  night. 
He  knew  that  that  was  to  be  the  last  day  of  the 
King,  who  had  been  always  kind  to  him,  to  whom 
he  had  sworn  to  be  faithful,  and  whom  he  now  was 
on  the  point  to  betray.  He  did  not  know  that  that 


186  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

was  to  be  also  his  own  last  day.  But  God  knows 
what  forebodings  he  might  have  had  that  very 
morning,  when  my  friend  saw  him  physically  so 
collapsed ! 

A  few  moments  later,  the  first  Aide-de-Camp 
to  the  King,  General  Laza  Petrovich,  entered. 
General  Petrovich  was  one  of  the  handsomest  and 
smartest  officers  of  the  Servian  Army.  He  was 
nicknamed  "  Lepi  Laza,"  the  "  Handsome  Laza." 
Looking  very  smart  in  the  Servian  General's  uniform, 
well-groomed,  as  if  he  had  been  an  English  officer,  a 
pleasant  smile  in  his  dark  eyes,  and  always  ready 
to  laugh  and  show  his  fine  teeth,  he  came  in 
to  greet  heartily  my  friend,  and  to  joke  with 
him.  He  seemed  quite  happy.  Evidently  he  had 
no  foreboding  that  in  about  twelve  hours  he  would 
witness  a  terrible  massacre,  and  be  dead  himself. 

King  Alexander  received  my  friend  for  a  few 
minutes  only.  He  was  in  the  Servian  General's 
undress  uniform.  He  looked  well,  and  seemed  to 
be  in  good  spirits.  He  explained  to  my  friend  that 
he  could  not  talk  with  him  then,  as  he  had  invited 
the  Austro- Hungarian  Military  Attache*  to  an 
interview,  and  Colonel  Pomyankovsky  was  waiting 
in  the  drawing-room  for  an  audience.  He  asked 
my  friend  to  come  to  the  Palace  that  evening, 
"  when  they  would  have  plenty  of  time  to  talk 
together." 

Poor  King  Alexander,  poor  young  man  !  Little 
did  he  think  that  his  time  was  very  short  indeed, 
that  he  was  living  then  the  last  hours  of  his  life, 


THE  ASSASSINATION  187 

and  that   in   less  than    twelve  hours  he  would  be 
cruelly  assassinated ! 

That  afternoon  was  unusually  hot  and  sultry  for 
the  time  of  the  year.  As  if  it  had  been  the  middle 
of  summer,  everybody  remained  indoors,  and  only 
towards  the  evening  came  out  for  a  walk  on  the 
"  Teraziya  " — the  principal  street  on  the  ridge  of  the 
triangular  elevation  on  which  Belgrade  is  built,  and 
which,  passing  the  Palace,  leads  on  to  the  Citadel's 
glacier,  transformed  into  a  pretty  park.  Owing  to 
the  sultriness  of  the  air  people  expected  a  great 
storm  that  night. 

At  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  in  the  small 
waiting-room  of  the  Old  Palace  were  to  be  seen 
the  smart  and  smiling  "  Handsome  Laza,"  who 
was  positively  cheerful ;  the  unshaven  and  evidently 
deeply  agitated  Lieutenant-Colonel  Naoumovich, 
who  looked  then  even  worse  than  at  noon  of  that 
day  ;  the  Home  Minister,  Mr.  Velya  Todorovich, 
who  seemed  to  be  in  a  cheerful  mood,  as  if  the 
secret  police  had  not  informed  him  that  a  conspiracy 
might  explode  any  day,  and  at  any  time ;  the 
handsome,  elegant,  and  certainly  very  able  Mr. 
Lyuba  Novakovich,  Minister  of  Agriculture, 
Commerce,  and  Industry ;  and  the  spare  figure  and 
pale  face  of  Mr.  Zivan  Zivanovich,  the  Minister  of 
Public  Instruction.  That  face  looked  somewhat 
colder  and  sterner  than  usual.  Mr.  Zivanovich  is 
generally  believed  to  have  known  not  only  that  a 
military  conspiracy  was  in  existence,  but,  also,  that 
that  very  night  something  would  be  attempted 


188  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

against  the  King !  With  them  in  the  waiting-room 
was  also  the  Servian  Minister  to  Bulgaria,  Mr. 
Paul  Marinkovich,  whom  the  young  King  wished 
specially  to  see  that  night. 

A  few  minutes  later  an  equerry  entered  the 
room,  to  inform  the  Cabinet  Ministers  of  the 
King's  desire  to  see  them  at  once,  and  all  three 
together.  Mr.  Marinkovich  was  called  to  the 
Queen. 

What  the  King  said  to  his  Ministers,  I  do 
not  know. 

Mr.  Marinkovich  was  kind  enough  to  inform 
me  of  the  subject  of  Queen  Draga's  conversation 
with  him. 

The  Queen  looked  sadly  depressed.  He 
thought  she  received  him  coldly.  I  should  say 
she,  with  a  woman's  sensitiveness  and  intuition, 
felt  vaguely  the  approaching  danger.  She  com- 
plained of  the  situation,  which  she  described  as 
"  simply  awful." 

"  We  know  that  something  is  going  on  against 
us  ;  we  know  that  Russia  is  working  against  the 
King ;  this  is  a  terrible  evil,  and  all  our  friends 
ought  to  stand  by  us,  and  help  us  !  " 

This  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  arrival 
of  the  Premier,  General  Tzintzar-Markovich.  I 
believe  he  was  sent  for  by  the  Queen.  Mr. 
Marinkovich  rose  and  left  them.  He  was  im- 
mediately called  to  the  King.  It  was  exactly 
7.45  p.m. 

King  Alexander   kept   his   envoy   to   Bulgaria 


THE  ASSASSINATION  189 

nearly  two  and  a  half  hours.  They  discussed  a 
very  confidential  and  very  important  subject. 

About  the  Christmas  of  1902,  King  Alexander 
decided  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  Bulgaria, 
and  declare  war  on  Turkey.  Mr.  Marinkovich 
was  entrusted  with  the  negotiations  of  a  secret 
Treaty  with  Bulgaria.  Meantime  the  Servian 
General  Staff  had  elaborated  all  the  details  of  the 
invasion  of  the  Kossovo  Vilayet  by  the  Servian 
Army.  Alexander  gave  all  his  energetic  interest 
to  this  great  subject.  He  discussed — only  a  few 
hours  before  his  officers  arrived  to  murder  him — 
with  his  Minister  to  Bulgaria  all  the  diplomatic 
details,  and  the  great  features  of  the  military  plans 
for  the  liberation  of  "Old  Servia"  and  Macedonia. 
This  circumstance  only  deepens  the  tragic  elements 
in  this  great  tragedy. 

The  King  told  his  envoy  that  the  War  Minister, 
General  Milovan  Pavlovich,  was  of  opinion  that 
action  should  not  begin  before  September  of  that 
year ;  but  that  by  that  time  the  Servian  Army 
would  be  ready  to  take  the  field. 

The  last  note  which  King  Alexander  made 
with  his  own  hand  that  fateful  night,  ran  as 
follows  : — 

"  To  order  the  Finance  Minister  to  insure  the 
regular  payment  of  salaries  to  the  officers  and 
the  men  of  the  Pirot  garrison,  and  tell  the  War 
Minister  to  issue  orders  to  the  commander  of  that 
garrison  to  instruct  his  officers  to  go  as  often  as 
possible  across  the  frontier  to  meet  the  Bulgarian 


190  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

officers,  and  to  fraternise  with  them  ;  and  for  that 
object  the  officers  to  receive  more  frequently  extra 
pocket-money." 

At  10.30  p.m.,  General  Tzintzar  -  Markovich 
entered  the  room,  in  which  King  Alexander  was 
absorbed  in  talking,  with  his  Bulgarian  Envoy,  of 
the  prepared  plans  for  the  Serbo- Bulgarian  action 
against  the  Turks. 

"  For  Heaven's  sake,  Sire,"  said  the  Premier, 
"have  pity  on  this  young  man!  The  Queen  is 
very  angry  with  him,  thinking  that  because  of  him 
you  keep  her  waiting  for  the  supper  all  this  time." 

The  King  rose  at  once,  and  all  three  proceeded 
to  the  large  entrance  hall,  leading  to  the  Queen's 
room  and  to  the  dining-room.  On  their  way  there, 
the  King  said  to  his  Premier — 

"  Mito,1  the  Bulgarian2  says  that  he  believes 
the  thing  would  be  quite  possible.  But  as  it  is 
now  already  so  late,  you  had  both  better  come 
to-morrow  to  dine  with  me,  and  after  dinner  we 
will  discuss  all  the  points !  " 

In  the  entrance  hall,  in  a  corner,  the  musicians 
of  the  Guards  were  waiting  to  commence  to  play 
during  supper.  A  little  farther,  Captain  Nikodiye 
Lunyevitza,  the  Queen's  younger  brother,  was  stand- 
ing with  a  few  officers.  There  was  also  the  equerry 
on  duty,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Naoumovich,  in  full 
uniform.  He  looked  very  ill. 

1  Diminutive  from  Demeter,  which  was  the  Christian  name  of 
General  Tzintzar-Markovich. 

2  King  Alexander  called  by  that  nickname  Mr.  Markinovich. 


THE  ASSASSINATION  191 

"  Naoum !  what  is  the  matter  with  you? 
You  look  so  unwell !  "  said  the  King  to  him. 

"  I  am  ill,  your  Majesty !  "  answered  the  traitor 
with  trembling  voice. 

"  Why  have  you  then  not  asked  to  be  relieved 
of  duty  to-night  ? "  asked  poor  King  Alexander 
sympathetically  ;  but  without  waiting  for  the 
answer,  he  hurried  to  the  Queen's  boudoir,  to 
fetch  her  to  the  supper. 

At  that  hour  in  the  guard-house  in  the  court- 
yard of  the  Palace  strange  doings  were  in  progress. 
Naoumovich  had  sent  to  the  officers'  room  the 
strongest  wines  which  the  King's  cellar  could 
supply. 

Second  Lieutentant  of  the  Guards,  Peter 
Zivkovich  was  pouring  glass  after  glass  to  the 
loyal  commander  Captain  P.  Panayotovich.  It  is 
believed  that  Zivkovich,  who  was  in  the  con- 
spiracy, drugged  the  wine  which  he  served  to 
the  Commander  of  the  Guards.  Before  the  King 
and  Queen  retired,  about  midnight,  to  their  rooms, 
their  faithful  Commander  of  the  Guards  was  in  a 
deep  sleep,  lying  absolutely  unconscious  on  a  sofa 
in  the  officers'  room  of  the  Guards. 

After  a  hot  and  sultry  day,  the  coffee-houses 
and  "  beer-gardens "  of  Belgrade  were  filled  with 
people.  Especially  the  garden  of  the  well-known 
Restaurant  "  Kolaratz,"  opposite  the  National 
Theatre,  and  about  half-way  between  the  fortress 
and  the  Palace,  was  very  full.  At  one  table  sat 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Peter  Mishich,  his  dark  face 


192  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

looking  very  serious,  while  he  talked  in  low  tones 
to  a  younger  man  in  civilian  dress.  That  man 
was  his  own  brother-in-law,  Dushan  Vouich,  who 
was  soon  to  assume  the  duties  of  the  Prefect  of 
the  Police.  Not  far  from  his  table,  about  ten 
younger  officers  were  sitting  together,  smoking 
and  drinking  beer.  A  group  of  officers  were 
drinking  in  the  little  garden  in  front  of  the  hotel 
"  The  Servian  Crown,"  almost  opposite  the  principal 
entrance  to  the  fortress.  They  seemed  to  be  much 
excited.  They  repeatedly  ordered  the  gipsy 
musicians  to  play  the  March  of  Queen  Draga. 
They  were  drinking  heavily.  Other  conspirators 
were  gathered  in  the  Officers'  Club,  not  quite 
two  thousand  yards  from  the  Palace.  They  were 
also  drinking,  and  seemed  more  than  usually 
hilarious. 

Alexander  Mashin,  colonel  on  the  retired  list, 
the  organiser  of  the  plot,  and  the  chief  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  conspirators,  was  that 
evening  on  a  visit  to  his  friend  Colonel  Yovan 
Pavlovich,  once  Treasurer  of  the  King,  but  now 
placed  on  the  retired  list  because  he  disapproved 
of  the  King's  marriage  with  Draga  Mashin. 
Colonel  Mashin's  parents  were  of  the  Czek 
nationality,  and  emigrated  to  Servia  from  Bohemia 
during  the  reign  of  Prince  Alexander  Karageorge- 
vich.  His  father  was  a  very  able  physician,  and 
was  one  of  the  Court  doctors  to  Prince  Kara- 
georgevich,  and  remained  faithful  to  that  dynasty 
to  the  end  of  his  days.  But  as  Alexander  Mashin 


THE  ASSASSINATION  193 

showed  great  intelligence,  and  was  a  promising 
young  officer,  King  Milan  took  him  under  his 
own  special  protection,  made  him  one  of  his 
aides-de-camp,  and  by  his  influence  decided  his 
son  Alexander  to  send  Mashin  as  Envoy  Extra- 
ordinary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Monte- 
negro, and  in  1899  as  Servia's  Military  Expert 
Delegate  to  the  International  Peace  Conference  at 
the  Hague.  It  was  well  known  that,  for  reasons 
unexplained,  Colonel  Mashin  hated  his  sister-in- 
law  Draga,  the  widow  of  his  elder  brother  Svetozar 
Mashin,  and  that  his  hatred  was  intensified  after 
her  marriage  with  King  Alexander. 

I  do  not  know  what  was  the  subject  of  con- 
versation between  the  two  Colonels,  both  of  whom 
were  placed  on  the  retired  list  because  of  Draga. 
Probably  they  spoke  of  the  common  subject  of 
their  hatred.  But  Colonel  Yovan  Pavlovich  knew 
nothing  about  the  conspiracy. 

After  ii  o'clock  p.m.,  Mashin  often  looked  at 
his  watch  to  see  the  time.  It  seemed  as  if  he 
had  an  appointment  which  he  was  anxious  not  to 
miss. 

At  about  a  quarter  to  twelve  he  left  his  friend  ; 
but  half  an  hour  later  he  reappeared  in  Colonel 
Pavlovich's  house.  This  time  he  was  dressed 
in  the  full  uniform  of  a  Colonel  of  the  standing 
army,  and  his  astonished  friend  asked  him  what 
it  all  meant.  Mashin  told  him  everything  was 
arranged  to  liberate,  that  very  night,  the  Servian 
people  of  Alexander  and  his  Draga,  and  of  the 
13 


194  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Obrenovichs  altogether,  and  call  Peter  Kara- 
georgevich  to  the  throne.  Colonel  Pavlovich  was 
greatly  shocked.  He  implored  Mashin  to  desist 
from  the  decision  to  assassinate  Alexander  and 
Draga. 

"  It  is  now  too  late  !  The  thing  must  be  done ! 
But  as  I  may  be  killed  this  night  myself,  here  is 
my  last  will  and  testament,  and  I  leave  my  wife 
and  children  to  your  friendship,"  answered  Colonel 
Mashin,  and  hurried  away. 

He  went  straight  to  the  Palilula  Barracks,  where 
King  Alexander's  own  Vllth  Regiment  of  Infantry 
was  quartered.  The  commander  of  the  first  bat- 
talion of  that  regiment,  Major  Milivoy  Angyel- 
kovich,  received  him  and  introduced  him  as  the 
new  Commander  of  the  Danubian  Division  (to 
which  the  regiment  belonged),  whose  orders  im- 
plicitly to  obey  King  Alexander  had  specially 
commanded  them.  Colonel  Mashin  ordered  the 
entire  regiment  under  arms  at  once.  Some  detach- 
ments were  entrusted  to  certain  officers,  who  started 
immediately  for  their  destination.  The  remainder 
of  the  regiment  was  led  by  the  Colonel  towards 
the  Palace,  and  surrounded  it  on  the  northern, 
eastern,  and  southern  sides.  They  reached  the 
Palace  somewhat  later  than  arranged,  and  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  Mishich  and  other  officers,  who 
were  already  in  front  of  the  Palace,  had  misgivings 
that  something  was  wrong. 

Colonel  Mishich,  leaving  the  Kolaratz  garden, 
went  to  the  fortress,  and  brought  out  the  Vlth 


THE  ASSASSINATION  195 

Infantry  Regiment,  which  he  had  placed  in  the 
comparatively  narrow  street  between  the  Russian 
Legation  and  the  small  front  garden  of  the  Old 
Palace. 

The  Police  Commissioner,  seeing  the  troops 
emerging  at  midnight  from  the  fortress,  and  moving 
in  the  direction  of  the  Palace,  telephoned  to  the 
Prefect  of  Police,  Marshityanin,  whom  he  knew  to 
be  at  home.  This  gentleman,  undoubtedly  devoted 
to  the  King,  and  generally  considered  a  sharp-witted 
official,  lost  his  wits,  and,  instead  of  telephoning 
the  report  to  the  Palace,  he  peevishly  ordered  the 
Commissioner  to  address  the  officer  doing  duty  at 
the  Central  Police  Station.  The  officer  on  duty 
at  that  station  for  that  night  was  a  young  man, 
brother-in-law  of  the  King's  first  Aide-de-Camp, 
General  Petrovich.  Instead  of  spending  the  night 
at  the  station,  he  went  to  enjoy  himself  with  some 
friends,  leaving  in  his  place  a  young  clerk,  who  did 
not  know  what  to  do  when  someone  telephoned  that 
troops  were  moving  towards  the  Palace.  If  these 
two  small  misadventures  had  not  happened,  if  the 
King  had  been  advised  of  the  movements  of  the 
troops  in  time,  he  might  have  taken  the  command  of 
his  Guards,  and  of  the  gendarmerie  in  the  adjacent 
courtyard,  telephoned  to  the  barracks,  and  to  the 
Banyitza  Camp  for  help ;  and  events  might  have 
taken  another  turn.  But  fatality  decided  that  it 
should  be  otherwise. 

At    about    half -past  'twelve    the    troops    had 
surrounded  the  Palace.     None  of  the  soldiers  knew 


196  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

what  was  going  on.  Some  of  the  officers  who  were 
with  the  troops  did  not  know  either.  They  were 
told  confidentially,  by  the  officers  who  were  in  the 
conspiracy,  that  the  King  had  decided  to  send  away 
Queen  Draga,  and  that  he  had  ordered  the  troops 
to  come  to  the  Palace  to  assist  him  without  disturb- 
ing the  order  and  peace  of  the  town. 

About  twenty  officers  appeared  at  that  moment 
before  the  southern  iron  gate,  leading  from  the  street 
to  the  courtyard  of  the  Palace. 

One  of  them  gave  by  whistle  a  signal. 

Second  Lieutenant  Zivkovich,  having  caused 
his  commander,  Captain  Panayotovich,  to  fall  into 
a  deep  sleep,  took  the  keys  of  the  gates.  Hearing 
the  whistle  signal,  he  hurried  to  the  southern  gate, 
opened  it,  and  let  in  the  officers  who  were  impati- 
ently waiting  there. 

As  they  rushed  up  the  paved  carriage  drive, 
they  made  sufficient  noise  to  alarm  a  sergeant  of 
the  Guards,  who,  seeing  at  the  same  time  a  crowd, 
shouted  to  the  Guards  :  "  To  arms  !  To  arms  !  " 

The  soldiers  ran  out  of  their  rooms  and  grasped 
their  rifles.  One  of  the  inrushing  officers  fired  his 
revolver  at  the  loyal  sergeant,  and  killed  him  on 
the  spot. 

Second  Lieutenant  Zivkovich,  Commander  of 
the  company  of  the  Guards  on  duty,  sprang  forward, 
drew  his  sword,  and  cried  to  his  men :  "  Stand 
still!" 

In  a  few  seconds  the  company  was  standing  at 
attention. 


THE  ASSASSINATION  197 

« 
Zivkovich  addressed  them — 

"The  King's  orders  are  that  you  do  not  move 
from  here  whatever  takes  place  around  you  !  "  He 
stood  in  front,  to  prevent  them  moving. 

Some  of  the  conspirators  rushed  to  the  rooms  of 
the  first  Aide-de-Camp  of  the  King,  General  Petro- 
vich,  who  seemed  not  yet  to  have  gone  to  bed.  He 
rushed  out,  dressed,  to  see  what  was  the  matter, 
when  he  heard  the  shot  which  killed  the  sergeant, 
and  was  met  by  the  conspirators,  of  whom  one  fired 
at  him,  wounding  him  on  the  left  arm.  Others 
seemed  to  disapprove,  and  left  one  or  two  of  their 
comrades  to  bandage  the  wound  of  the  General,  and 
to  keep  watch  over  him. 

The  crowd  of  officers  then  rushed  to  the  entrance 
door  of  the  Old  Palace.  It  was  to  have  been 
opened  to  them  by  the  King's  equerry,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Naoumovich,  but  in  consequence  of  the 
agitation  of  the  whole  day,  and  possibly  owing  to 
continuous  heavy  drinking,  he  had  fallen  into  a 
heavy  sleep,  and  did  not  hear  his  co-conspirators  at 
the  door  of  the  Palace.  His  comrades  had  to  break 
the  door  open  with  a  dynamite  cartridge.  Its 
terrible  detonation  was  heard  all  over  the  town, 
exactly  at  half-past  twelve,  awakening  many  people, 
and  bringing  them  out  of  their  houses  into  the  street 
to  discover  what  was  the  matter.  The  detonation, 
and  the  shaking  of  the  building,  awakened  Naoumo- 
vich, who  then  hurried  to  meet  his  comrades.  But 
they  were  so  enraged  with  him  for  his  dangerous 
negligence,  or  his  treachery,  that  one  of  them,  by 


198  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

name  Captain  Dragutin  Dimitriyevich,  shot  him 
dead  on  the  spot.  It  is  an  extraordinary  circum- 
stance that  the  officer  who  killed  Naoumovich  was, 
according  to  general  rumour  in  Belgrade,  the  lover 
of  Naoumovich's  wife !  Another  version  is  that 
Naoumovich,  who  was  waiting  and  watching,  fully 
dressed,  for  the  arrival  of  his  co-conspirators,  did 
open  the  outside  door  of  the  building  to  them,  and 
smashed  the  door  of  the  great  salon  by  a  dynamite 
cartridge ;  but,  agitated  as  he  was,  he  bungled  over 
it,  and  was  himself  killed  by  the  explosion. 

Anyhow,  the  conspirators  obtained  access  to  the 
inner  rooms  of  the  Palace  at  a  few  minutes  after 
half-past  twelve. 

Meanwhile  the  dynamite  explosion  at  the 
Palace,  in  addition  to  revolver  shots  which  were 
heard,  opened  the  eyes  of  the  gendarmes  in  the 
next  courtyard  to  the  Palace  courtyard,  and  they 
began  to  fire  on  the  crowd  which  they  saw  in 
the  Palace  yard,  and  in  front  of  the  Palace 
door. 

Not  quite  five  hundred  yards  from  the  Palace 
was  the  police  station  for  that  part  of  the  town, 
which  is  called  "  Teraziya."  The  gendarmes  of 
that  station,  about  ten  or  fifteen  men,  hearing  the 
explosion  in  the  Palace,  and  seeing  what  seemed  to 
be  a  crowd  of  people  in  the  street  in  front  of  the 
Old  Palace,  began  to  fire  on  them.  But  that 
apparent  crowd  were  soldiers  of  the  Vlth  Regiment, 
who  answered  by  firing  their  rifles  at  the  police 
station,  and  for  ten  minutes  or  a  quarter  of  an  hour 


THE  ASSASSINATION  199 

it  seemed  as  if  a  battle  were  raging  around  the 
Palace. 

But  at  the  order  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mishich, 
a  detachment  of  the  Vlth  Regiment  succeeded  in 
mastering  the  few  gendarmes  of  the  police  station, 
having  killed  some  of  them.  The  gendarmes  of 
the  Palace,  in  the  courtyard  next  to  the  Palace 
courtyard,  were  stopped  firing  by  the  Commander 
of  the  Infantry  Guards,  Captain  Luba  Kostich, 
who  arrived  there  with  the  whole  regiment  of  the 
Guards,  and  told  them  that  what  was  going  on  had 
been  ordered  by  the  King,  who  wanted  to  send 
away  Queen  Draga. 

The  explosion  of  the  dynamite  cartridge  had 
broken  the  electric  light  wires.  There  was  perfect 
darkness  in  the  Palace.  The  officers,  led  by 
Captain  Dragutin  Dimitriyevich,  who,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  strength  and  brutality,  was  nicknamed 
"Apis,"  and  who  already  had  killed  Naoumovich 
and  a  soldier  of  the  sentry,  were  groping  through 
the  rooms,  shouting  terrible  menaces,  and  blasphem- 
ing in  a  horrible  manner.  With  great  difficulty 
they  forced  one  or  two  servants  to  get  them  a  few 
candles.  They  sent  one  of  their  own  comrades 
across  the  street  to  Dr.  Gashich's  house  to  get 
some.  By  the  help  of  these  candles  they  searched 
every  corner  of  the  Palace,  looking  under  every 
sofa  and  behind  every  curtain,  striking  the  walls 
with  their  swords  to  detect  any  secret  door  in  them. 
But  there  was  no  trace  anywhere  of  the  Royal 
couple.  Yet  their  bed  seemed  to  have  been 


200  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

occupied,  and  a  French  book  was  on  a  small  table 
near  the  bed,  lying  open,  as  if  it  had  just  been 
thrown  there  in  haste. 

They  ordered  the  wounded  General  Petrovich 
to  be  brought  in.  He  was  brought  in,  two 
conspirators  holding  his  arms.  They  told  him 
that  they  would  spare  his  life  if  he  told  them 
where  the  King  and  Queen  were  hiding.  He 
assured  them  that  he  had  no  idea  where  they  were. 
They  began  to  strike  him  with  their  swords, 
shouting,  in  their  rage,  insults  and  disgusting  oaths. 
He  maintained  that  he  did  not  know.  At  last 
he  said — 

"  You  have  not  been  to  the  New  Palace,  perhaps 
they  are  there ! " 

They  had  been  searching  the  rooms  of  the  Old 
Palace  nearly  a  whole  hour.  They  thought  their 
search  was  really  thorough.  They  therefore,  after 
a  short  consultation,  decided  to  go  to  the  New 
Palace,  which  is  not  quite  two  hundred  yards  from 
the  old  one,  and  in  the  same  courtyard.  They  all 
left  the  Old  Palace. 

On  crossing  the  threshold  into  the  open  air, 
poor  General  Petrovich  said — 

"  Gentlemen,  you  have  hats  on  your  heads,  I 
am  bareheaded.  As  I  have  not  much  hair,  and 
there  is  a  cool  breeze,  I  may  catch  cold.  Please 
send  someone  to  fetch  me  my  hat." 

A  young  lieutenant  put  his  own  cap  on  the 
General's  head. 

In  the  courtyard,  Colonels  Mashin,  Solarovich, 


THE  ASSASSINATION  201 

Atanaskovich,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mishich,  and  a 
few  other  officers,  were  standing  opposite  the 
entrance  door  of  the  Old  Palace.  They  were 
astonished  to  see  the  crowd  of  officers  coming 
out. 

Colonel  Mashin  stepped  quickly  forward,  and 
asked  the  excited  crowd  of  younger  officers — 

"  What  on  earth  are  you  doing  ?  Where  are 
you  going  ?  " 

"  They  are  nowhere  to  be  found  in  this  old 
house,"  some  of  them  answered;  "and  General 
Laza  said  it  may  be  that  they  are  gone  to  the 
New  Palace,  and  we  are  leading  him  there  to  show 
us  the  rooms." 

"  You  fools !  "  shouted  Mashin  in  a  rage.  "  Do 
you  not  see  that  this  rogue"  (he  actually  used  a  few 
indecent  words)  "  is  only  making  dupes  of  you  to 
gain  time  ?  Back  at  once  to  the  Palace,  and  we 
will  go  with  you  !  " 

And  they  all  —  Mashin,  Mishich,  Solarovich, 
Atanaskovich,  and  the  others — returned  to  the  Old 
Palace  on  a  new  search. 

Meanwhile  King  Alexander  and  Queen  Draga 
were  hidden  in  the  small  alcove,  to  which  they 
had  access  through  a  secret  door  in  the  papered 
walls  of  the  bedroom.  The  iron  door  fitted  so 
closely  in  the  wall  that  in  the  broad  daylight  it 
could  hardly  be  discovered.  What  those  two  poor 
people  thought  and  said  to  each  other  while  they 
listened  to  the  firing  in  the  yard  and  in  the  Palace, 
and  to  the  shouts  of  the  infuriated,  half-drunken 


202  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

officers  in  search  after  them,  God  only  knows ! 
They  certainly  must  have  known  that  it  was 
imminent  and  violent  death  which  was  in  search  of 
them.  They  must  have  heard  the  shocking  curses, 
disgusting  oaths,  and  the  terrible  menaces,  which 
those  wild  beasts  in  human  form  had  been  uttering 
during  their  apparently  useless  search  of  nearly  two 
hours.  The  deeper  their  devotion  to  each  other, 
the  greater  their  ambition  to  do  great  and  splendid 
deeds  as  King  and  Queen,  the  more  intense  must 
have  been  their  mental  suffering  and  agony  before 
the  bullets  from  the  revolvers  and  the  sharp  swords 
of  their  officers  reached  their  trembling  bodies. 
The  agony  of  their  souls,  lasting  for  nearly  two 
hours,  I  imagine  must  have  caused  them  far  greater 
sufferings  than  the  physical  agony  of  their  mutilated, 
massacred,  dying  bodies.  The  poor  young  man, 
the  poor  woman  ambitious  to  wear  the  Royal 
crown,  have  paid  a  tremendous  price  for  their 
ambitions,  for  their  follies  and  sins.  I  am  sure  not 
one  of  my  readers  will  ever  wish  for  a  moment, 
even  his  or  her  bitterest  and  most  hated  enemy,  to 
suffer,  for  five  minutes,  what  King  Alexander 
and  Queen  Draga  had  suffered  for  nearly  two  hours  ! 

Did  they  pray  to  God  in  those  terrible  moments  ? 
Alexander  did  not  believe  in  God,  but  Draga  did. 
I  daresay  she  prayed  more  fervently  than  she  ever 
prayed  in  her  life.  They  certainly  both  wanted  to 
be  saved.  That  intense  desire  to  be  saved  brought 
about  quicker  their  horrible  end. 

The  alcove  in  which  they  remained  hidden  had 


THE  ASSASSINATION  203 

a  window  facing  the  front  of  the  Palace,  and  the 
narrow  street  lined  with  horse-chestnut  trees,  in 
which  lived  the  Tzar's  Envoy  Extraordinary  and 
Minister  Plenipotentiary,  Mr.  Tcharikoff,  who  was 
actually  at  one  of  his  windows,  watching,  no  doubt 
in  great  agitation,  the  development  of  the  tragedy 
of  which  he  was  confidentially  informed  three  or 
four  days  before. 

Queen  Draga  was  leaning  her  forehead  against 
the  window,  and  peering  into  the  semi-obscurity 
towards  the  Russian  Legation,  probably  in  the 
hope  that  every  moment  the  doors  of  the  Legation 
would  open,  and  the  Tzar's  Minister  step  forward 
to  claim,  in  his  master's  name,  the  lives  of  those 
two  unhappy  people,  whose  marriage  he,  as  the 
principal  witness,  endorsed  before  the  Servians  and 
before  the  world  at  large.  But  no!  He  was  at 
the  window,  looking,  perhaps,  not  without  pity ;  but 
seemingly  helpless ! 

The  poor  Queen  Draga  noticed  in  the  garden 
an  officer  walking  slowly  among  the  bushes.  She 
peered  more  intently,  and  piercing  the  obscurity  of 
a  June  night,  she  recognised  the  Commander  of 
the  Royal  Guard,  Captain  Luba  Kostich.  Surely 
the  Royal  Guards  will  be  faithful  to  their  oath; 
surely  the  Commander  of  the  Royal  Guards  will  be 
loyal  to  his  King!  Poor  Queen  Draga  hastily 
opened  the  window,  and  shouted  in  evident  distress, 
and  at  the  top  of  her  voice — 

"  Soldiers!  Your  King  is  in  danger!  For 
God's  sake,  to  the  rescue,  to  the  rescue ! " 


204  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

The  Commander  of  the  faithful  Guards  stopped 
pacing  the  flower  garden.  He  recognised  the 
Queen's  voice,  saw  her  distinctly,  and — fired  his 
revolver  at  her!  She  hastily  drew  the  blinds.  It 
was  too  late. 

Captain  Kostich  ran  up  the  staircase  to  the 
first  floor,  to  the  still  bewildered  and  enraged 
conspirators,  and  told  them  where  the  King  and 
Queen  were  hiding,  as  he  had  seen  the  Queen  at 
the  window  of  the  alcove. 

Still  they  did  not  discover  the  door  leading  to 
the  alcove.  They  called  for  an  axe.  An  axe  was 
speedily  brought  from  the  woodshed  in  the  court- 
yard. Lieutenant  began  to  strike  the  wall 

with  it. 

General  Petrovich  saw  that  in  a  few  seconds  the 
axe  would  strike  the  door,  behind  which  he  knew 
the  King  and  the  Queen  were  standing.  Trembling 
and  pale,  from  emotion  more  than  from  pain  and 
loss  of  blood  from  his  wound,  he  said — 

"  Gentlemen,  will  you  give  me  your  word  of 
honour  that  you  will  spare  the  life  of  the  King  ?  " 

Several  voices  in  the  excited  crowd  answered, 
"Yes." 

General  Petrovich  turned  to  a  certain  point  of 
the  papered  wall  and  knocked. 

"Sire!  Sire!"  he  shouted.  "Open!  Open! 
I  am  your  Laza.  Here  are  your  officers !  " 

The  door  opened  slowly. 

There  stood  King  Alexander  and  Queen  Draga, 
both  of  them  hastily  and  insufficiently  dressed,  as 


THE  ASSASSINATION  205 

they  had  sprung  from  their  bed.  They  found 
themselves  facing  a  dense  group  of  officers. 

It  was  a  historic  but  terrible  tableau ! 

King  Alexander  stepped  forward  in  front  of  the 
Queen,  as  if  to  shelter  her,  looked  straight  at  the 
traitors,  and  said — 

"  What  is  it  you  want?  .  .  .  And  what  of  your 
oath  of  fidelity  to  me  ?  " 

There  was  a  second  or  two  of  deadly  silence. 
They  looked  at  each  other  as  if  mesmerised. 

Then  Lieutenant ,  who  before  entering  the 

army  was  a  teacher  in  a  village  school,  cried 
out — 

"  What  are  you  standing  gazing  at  ?  Here  is 
our  oath  of  fidelity  to  him  !  !  !  " 

Saying  this,  he  fired  on  the  King,  who  sank 
into  the  arms  of  Draga. 

In  a  moment  several  revolvers  were  fired  on 
the  falling  King  and  on  the  Queen.  They  both  then 
dropped  on  the  floor.  The  enraged  conspirators 
continued  for  a  few  seconds  firing  their  revolvers  at 
the  Royal  couple,  bleeding  and  groaning  on  the  floor. 
They  then  drew  their  swords,  and  began  to  slash 
them  in  all  directions.  The  poor  woman,  Queen 
Draga,  was  especially  the  object  of  their  revolting 
cruelty. 

I  cannot  describe  the  horrible,  disgusting,  and 
ferocious  conduct  of  some  of  those  murderers. 
They  seemed  to  emulate  the  exploits  of  Jack-the- 
Ripper  on  the  dead  body  of  the  woman  who  was 
their  Queen.  As  I  write  these  lines,  I  feel  utter 


206  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

shame  and  humiliation  that  Servian  officers  could 
have  conducted  themselves  with  such  brutal  cruelty  ! 

Fortunately  the  poor  woman  was  killed  instantly 
by  the  first  volley  aimed  at  her. 

King  Alexander,  although  pierced  by  several 
bullets,  was  not  dead.  He  groaned  in  agony,  in 
a  pool  of  blood.  It  is  not  certain  that  he  was 
conscious. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Mishich  suggested  that  the 
bodies  of  the  King  and  Queen  should  be  thrown 
out  of  the  window,  into  the  flower  garden,  that  the 
soldiers  surrounding  the  Palace  should  see  that 
they  were  dead. 

He  opened  the  window.  Bending  over  it  he 
shouted— 

"  Long  live  Peter  Karageorgevich,  King  of 
Servia ! " 

The  officers  in  front  of  their  soldiers  echoed  his 
cry  by  shouting :  "  Long  live  King  Peter ! " 
("Ziveo  Kralj  Petar!") 

Mishich  moved  from  the  window,  to  make  place 
for  a  few  younger  officers,  who  were  carrying  the 
bloody  and  mutilated  body  of  Queen  Draga,  with 
coarse  jests  and  screaming  as  if  they  were  mad. 

They  threw  her  into  the  garden. 

Another  group  of  officers  had  followed  with  the 
body  of  Alexander,  covered  with  terrible  wounds, 
yet  still  groaning  in  agony. 

They  raised  him  to  throw  him  out  of  the  window, 
but  the  fingers  of  the  dying  young  man  convulsively 
caught  the  frame  of  the  window,  and  held  it  fast. 


THE  ASSASSINATION  207 

One  of  the  officers  took  his  sword,  and  cut  off 
his  fingers.  The  next  moment  Alexander's  body 
was  thrown  out,  amidst  the  wild  cries  of  his 
murderers — 

"Ziveo  Kralj  Petar!" 

Falling  on  the  grass  lawn  of  the  garden, 
Alexander's  body  received  such  a  shock  that  his 
right  eye  fell  out  of  its  socket !  Still,  he  was  not 
yet  dead. 

Two  hours  their  bodies,  naked,  bleeding,  and 
broken,  were  lying  in  the  garden,  in  view  of  the 
soldiers !  At  four  o'clock  it  began  to  rain.  At  that 
time  the  Russian  Minister  Tcharikoff  crossed  the 
narrow  street  from  the  Russian  Legation,  entered 
the  flower  garden,  stopped,  and,  not  without  deep 
agitation,  looked  on  the  bodies  of  the  man  and 
woman  who  had  been,  only  a  few  hours  earlier,  the 
King  and  Queen  of  Servia. 

A  few  of  the  officers  who  had  murdered  them, 
with  Colonel  Mashin,  stepped  forward  and  saluted 
the  Tzar's  representative. 

The  first  words  of  Tcharikoff  were — 

"  For  God's  sake,  gentlemen,  carry  their  bodies 
inside  the  Palace.  Do  not  leave  them  here  in  the 
rain,  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  the  public." 

A  few  moments  after,  two  bed-sheets  were 
brought  out  of  the  Palace.  The  murderers  placed 
the  bodies  into  these  sheets  and  carried  them  into 
a  room  on  the  ground  floor. 

They  noticed  that  one  hand  of  King  Alexander 
had  grasped  green  grass  from  the  lawn.  In  his 


208  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

death  agony  the  convulsions  of  his  fingers  tore 
the  soft  grass. 

Having  murdered  their  King  and  Queen,  and 
thrown  them  through  the  window  into  the  front 
garden  of  the  Palace,  the  murderers  were  seized 
by  a  sort  of  jubilant  frenzy.  They  screamed  and 
shouted  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  dancing  and 
running  about  the  rooms  like  madmen,  firing  their 
revolvers  at  the  pictures  on  the  walls,  at  looking- 
glasses  and  candelabras ;  some  of  them  broke  with 
axes  the  bedstead  of  the  Royal  couple,  and  smashed 
all  the  fine  things  on  the  Queen's  toilette  table ; 
called  for  wine  from  the  King's  cellars,  and  the 
trembling  servants  obeyed  their  orders.  Others, 
who  felt  the  air  of  the  Palace  hot  and  sulphurous, 
rushed  into  the  courtyard,  ordered  tables  to  be  set 
out  on  the  carriage  drive,  and  drank  to  the  health 
of  King  Peter.  For  some  time  the  Old  Palace  and 
its  courtyard  were  turned  into  a  pandemonium. 

However  shameful  the  orgie  of  these  blood- 
thirsty officers,  still  more  shameful  was  the  be- 
haviour of  those  murderers  who  kept  cool. 

I  hope  it  is  not  true ;  but  I  have  been  assured 
by  honourable  men,  and  it  was  on  different  occasions 
stated  in  the  papers,  that  many  jewels  belonging 
to  the  Queen,  watches  and  rings  belonging  to  the 
King,  were  taken  away  by  these  beasts  in  officers' 
uniform.  Twelve  hours  before  the  King  had 
received  from  the  Treasury  100,000  francs  (^4000), 
his  monthly  civil  list,  and,  besides  that  amount, 
both  the  King  and  the  Queen  had  always  in  reserve 


THE  ASSASSINATION  209 

and  at  hand  a  sum  of  ^4000.  All  that  money 
disappeared  during  the  mad  tumult  in  the  Palace 
immediately  after  the  assassination  of  the  Royal 
couple. 

Meanwhile,  during  these  bloody  and  horrible 
events  in  the  Palace,  several  companies  of  soldiers 
marched  in  various  directions.  The  officers  who 
led  them  had  special  orders.  A  company  surrounded 
the  house  of  General  Tzintzar-Markovich,  who  was 
with  King  Alexander  up  to  nearly  eleven  o'clock 
that  night,  and  was  working  in  his  room,  fully 
dressed.  At  about  one  o'clock  a.m.  he  was  startled 
by  a  loud  knock  at  the  gate  of  his  house.  He 
opened  the  windows,  and  saw  the  soldiers. 

"What  do  you  want?  "  the  General  asked. 

"  General,"  said  the  commander  of  the  company, 
Captain  Svetozar  Radakovich,  "  I  have  to  give  you 
a  special  communication  by  the  order  of  his  Majesty 
the  King." 

"  Very  well !  "  answered  the  General,  and  ordered 
his  servant  to  open  the  door. 

Entering  the  General's  room,  Captain  Radako- 
vich saluted  and  said — 

"  His  Majesty  ordered  me  to  arrest  you,  and 
keep  watch  over  you  until  further  order ! " 

"Indeed!"  said  the  General;  and  then  added, 
"  I  will  facilitate  the  accomplishment  of  your  duty. 
Let  us  sit  down.  Take  a  cigarette." 

They  talked  quietly,  and  apparently  friendly,  for 
some  time. 
14 


210  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

Then  a  servant  from  the  General's  daughter 
came  running  to  ask  Madame  Tzintzar-Markovich 
to  hurry  to  her  daughter,  who  expected  every 
moment  to  be  confined.  The  poor  young  woman, 
hearing  the  detonations  of  dynamite  and  firing  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Palace,  where  her 
husband,  the  young  and  handsome  Captain  Miljko- 
vich,  was  on  duty  as  equerry,  became  terribly 
agitated,  with  the  result  that  her  confinement  took 
place.  At  that  moment  her  husband  was  lying  dead 
in  the  Palace ! 

Captain  Radakovich  would  not  allow  the 
General's  wife  to  leave  the  house.  But  after 
both  the  General  and  Madame  Tzintzar-Markovich 
implored  him  to  let  her  go,  promising  faithfully  not 
to  tell  anyone  that  the  General  was  by  the  King's 
order  under  arrest,  he  gave  her  permission  to  go. 

The  General  and  Captain  Radakovich  continued 
talking  and  smoking  for  some  time.  Then  the 
General  proposed  that  they  should  have  some  coffee. 
He  went  towards  the  door  to  give  orders  that  coffee 
should  be  made.  Then  Captain  Radakovich  also 
rose,  took  his  revolver,  and  fired  in  quick  succession 
several  shots  at  the  General,  who  fell  instantly  on 
his  face,  dead !  His  two  unmarried  daughters 
rushed  into  the  room,  and  seeing  their  father  dead, 
one  of  them  lost  her  reason  temporarily,  and  the 
other  withdrew  to  a  corner  of  the  room,  which  she 
did  not  leave  for  several  days  and  nights,  remaining 
all  the  while  speechless. 

It    was    marvellous    that    Madame    Tzintzar- 


THE  ASSASSINATION  211 

Markovich  —  herself  a  woman  in  very  delicate 
health — was  able  to  survive  that  awful  night !  She 
lost  suddenly  and  most  unexpectedly  her  husband 
and  her  son-in-law,  saw  her  eldest  daughter  in 
danger  of  death  by  premature  confinement,  and 
both  her  younger  daughters  on  the  verge  of  insanity. 
Her  husband  was  one  of  the  ablest  Servian  officers, 
and  a  true  Christian  gentleman. 

Colonel  Mashin,  who  seemed  to  have  acted  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  conspiracy,  had  ordered 
Lieutenant  Tankossich  to  murder  the  two  young 
brothers  of  Queen  Draga,  Captains  Nikodiye*  and 
Nicholas  Lunyevitza.  Captain  Michael  Yosipovich 
received  orders  to  kill  the  War  Minister,  General 
Milovan  Pavlovich,  and  the  young  Lieutenant 
Milosh  R.  Popovich  to  kill  the  Minister  of  Home 
Affairs  (Police),  Mr.  Velya  Todorovich. 

Lieutenant  Tankossich  sent  a  detachment  of 
soldiers  to  the  house  of  the  two  brothers  Lunye- 
vitza. They  were  informed  that  they  were  wanted 
at  once  at  the  office  of  the  staff  of  their  division. 
At  the  office  they  were  told  by  Colonel  Solarovich 
that  they  were  condemned  to  die.  Lieutenant 
Tankossich  brought  them  out  in  the  yard,  permitted 
them,  at  their  own  request,  to  embrace  each  other, 
and  as  good  brothers  to  take  leave  of  each  other. 

They  were  placed  against  the  wall,  facing 
bravely  the  firing  party  of  soldiers.  At  a  signal 
Tankossich  made  with  his  sword,  the  soldiers 
fired,  and  the  two  handsome  and  brave  young  men 
fell  dead  instantly,  as  most  of  the  bullets  struck 


212  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

them  full  in  the  face  and  forehead.  By  their 
conduct  in  bravely  meeting  death  they  did  honour 
to  their  name. 

It  is  positively  asserted  that  their  watches,  rings, 
silver  tabatieres,  and  even  their  high  patent  boots 
were  all  taken  from  their  dead  bodies.  I  mention 
this,  not  only  because  such  statements  are  per- 
sistently circulated,  but  because  they  are  generally 
believed  in  Belgrade.  It  seems  incredible  that  they 
can  be  true. 

Another  victim  of  the  regicides  was  the  Minister 
of  War,  General  Milovan  Pavlovich.  He  was  an 
able  officer,  very  strict  commander,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  one  of  the  kindest  men  in  the  whole  of  Servia. 
Honest  and  loyal  himself,  he  refused  to  believe  that 
Servian  officers  could  be  so  disloyal,  and  all  the 
confidential  reports  about  the  conspiracy  among  the 
officers  he  treated  as  ridiculous  inventions  without 
the  slightest  foundation. 

After  the  assassination  of  the  King  and  the 
Queen,  Colonel  Mashin  telephoned  from  the  Palace 
to  General  Pavlovich's  private  residence,  asking  if 
the  General  was  at  home.  The  General's  wife 
answered  that  he  was,  and,  at  the  same  time,  wanted 
to  know  why  they  inquired  after  him.  The  answer 
came,  not  from  Mashin,  but  from  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Peter  Mishich,  "  There  are  some  disorders 
in  the  town,  and  we  are  sending  a  company  of 
soldiers  to  protect  the  General ! " 

When  the  soldiers  arrived  before  the  house  of 
the  General,  they,  at  the  command  of  their  captain, 


THE  ASSASSINATION  213 

Michael  Yosipovich,  opened  fire  at  once  on  the 
windows  of  the  rooms  on  the  first  floor,  in  which 
the  General  was  known  to  live.  He  appeared, 
fully  dressed,  at  one  of  the  windows,  and  began  to 
fire  from  a  revolver  on  his  assailants.  Exposing 
himself  at  the  window,  he  was  soon  wounded,  but 
continued  firing.  Meanwhile  a  few  soldiers,  led  by 
Lieutenant  Milan  Marinkovich,  rushed  up  the  stair- 
case towards  the  door  of  the  General's  room. 
Marinkovich  smashed  the  door  with  a  dynamite 
cartridge,  and  by  his  own  hand  killed  the  General. 
Not  satisfied  with  having  murdered  his  chief, 
Marinkovich  ordered  a  soldier  to  smash  his  skull 
with  a  blow  from  his  rifle. 

The  General's  widow,  in  describing  the  death 
of  her  husband,  added  that  his  murderers  carried 
away  his  gold  ring,  and  even  a  pair  of  new  untried  tall 
boots.  In  his  purse  they  found  altogether  80  francs 
(about  ^3,  35.),  of  which  they  took  60,  leaving  the 
widow  20  francs.  I  suppose  this  money  was  taken 
by  the  common  soldiers ;  but  there  are  people  who 
assert  to  have  seen  the  ring  of  the  General  on  the 
finger  of  his  murderer,  Marinkovich. 

Colonel  Mashin  had  selected  the  young  Cavalry 
Lieutenant  Milosh  K.  Popovich  to  kill  the  Home 
Minister,  Velya  Todorovich. 

That  officer  entering  the  house  of  the  Minister, 
and  finding  himself  opposite  a  defenceless  civilian, 
had  not  the  courage  to  kill  him.     A  few  minutes 
later  the  murderer  of  General   Pavlovich  arrived 
and  fired  on  the  Minister,  who  fell  at  once.     Be- 


214  A  ROYAL  TRAGEDY 

lieving  him  to  be  dead,  the  murderers  left  the  house. 
Mr.  Todorovich,  who  was  only  wounded,  and  had 
fainted,  recovered  consciousness,  and  took  refuge 
with  some  neighbours. 

Several  other  political  and  non-political  men 
were  on  the  list  of  those  who  were  to  be  assassinated 
that  early  morning.  Among  others,  Lieutenant 
George  Petrovich,  nephew  of  Queen  Draga ;  and 
the  editor  of  the  Male  N ovine,  Mr.  Pera  Todorovich, 
a  devoted  friend  of  King  Alexander,  and  the  most 
gifted  of  all  the  Servian  journalists.  The  officer 
entrusted  with  the  assassination  of  young  Petrovich 
missed  somehow  his  way,  and  returned  to  head- 
quarters to  ask  for  better  directions  to  the  house  in 
which  the  Queen's  nephew  lived.  Mr.  Todorovich 
was  informed  an  hour  before  the  assassins  came 
to  his  house,  and  he  fled,  and  succeeded  in  crossing 
the  river  to  Hungary.  Meanwhile,  that  is  between 
three  and  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Colonel 
Mashin  and  the  revolutionary  Cabinet  were  informed 
by  the  Austro- Hungarian  Minister  that,  if  further 
assassinations  did  not  stop,  the  Austrian  army 
would  occupy  Belgrade.  The  murderous  expedi- 
tions were  at  once  stopped. 

Having  proclaimed  Peter  Karageorgevich  King 
of  Servia,  from  the  window  through  which  King 
Alexander's  still  palpitating  body  was  thrown, 
Mishich  and  Mashin  ordered  the  soldiers  to  decorate 
their  caps  with  green  branches  and  flowers  from  the 
Palace  gardens,  the  military  bands  to  march  through 
the  streets  playing  the  gayest  marches,  and  sent  the 


THE  ASSASSINATION  215 

gendarmes  from  house  to  house  with  orders  to  the 
proprietors  to  display  the  Servian  national  flags,  in 
sign  of  the  general  rejoicing  that  the  Obrenovich 
Dynasty  was  annihilated. 

That  was  the  tragic  end  of  King  Alexander  and 
Queen  Draga ;  but  that  was  not  the  end  of  the 
tragedy  of  the  Servian  nation. 


APPENDIX 

THE  PRINCIPAL  CAUSES  WHICH  BROUGHT 
ABOUT  THE  TRAGIC  END  OF  KING 
ALEXANDER  AND  QUEEN  DRAGA. 

WRITTEN  BY  A  REGICIDE. 

As  I  wished  that  A  Royal  Tragedy  should  be  a  fair 
statement  of  facts,  a  perfectly  true  and  impartial  history, 
I  suggested  to  the  chiefs  of  the  regicides  to  let  me  have 
their  own  statement  of  causes  and  circumstances  which  led 
them  to  form  the  conspiracy  for  the  assassination  of  King 
Alexander  and  Queen  Draga.  I  offered  them  to  publish 
their  statement  in  the  Appendix  to  my  history  of  the 
great  Tragedy. 

They  declined  to  do  so,  or  rather,  they  refrained  acting 
on  my  suggestion  and  offer. 

But  in  the  summer  of  1905,  when  the  desire  of  the 
Servian  people  to  see  Great  Britain  renewing  diplomatic 
relations  with  Servia  was  intense,  one  of  the  regicides  pre- 
pared something  like  a  Memorandum  of  Justification  of 
their  action.  It  was  specially  prepared  for  the  English 
Press,  although  it  was  written  in  French.  It  was  sent  to 
London,  but  until  now  it  has  nowhere  been  published.  I 
leave  out  the  introduction,  which  recapitulates  the  events 
of  King  Milan's  reign,  and  also  the  last  part,  which  simply 
pleads  for  the  renewal  of  diplomatic  relations  between 
Great  Britain  and  Servia,  and  I  reproduce  in  what  follows 

217 


218  APPENDIX 

that  part  of  the  Memorandum  which  concerns  King  Alex- 
ander and  the  Conspiracy.  I  retain  the  title  which  the 
writer  gave  to  his  Memorandum  :  "  Principales  causes  qui 
amenerent  la  fin  tragique  du  Roi  Alexandre  et  de  la  Reine 
Draga?  Those  who  know  the  real  facts  of  the  Servian 
history  during  the  last  ten  years  will,  on  reading  the 
following  statement,  necessarily  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  regicides'  case  must  be  exceedingly  weak  when 
they  had  need  to  falsify  history  and  misrepresent  the  facts. 

".  .  .  Acting  on  the  advice  of  his  father,  King  Alexander 
gave,  on  the  eve  of  the  ist  of  April  1892,  a  dinner  in  the 
Palace  in  honour  of  his  Regents  and  their  Ministers.  At 
a  certain  moment  he  rose  up  and  announced  to  his  guests  : 
That,  from  that  time  up  to  the  dawn,  they  are  his  prisoners 
in  the  Palace ;  that  the  army  is  just  then  proclaiming  him 
of  full  age  and  reigning  King  ;  and  that  from  that  moment 
he  assumed  full  Royal  powers !  He  added  that  he  was 
acting  thus  because  the  Regents  and  their  Ministers  had 
violated  the  Constitution  and  disregarded  the  rights  of  the 
people.  He  published  a  proclamation  to  the  people  in 
which  he  said  the  same. 

"  This  was  King  Alexander's  first  *  State's  stroke '  (coup 
dttat}. 

"  A  few  weeks  later  he  made,  in  the  most  solemn  manner 
before  the  new  Parliament,  and  into  the  hands  of  the 
Metropolitan  of  Servia,  the  oath  of  faithful  respect  for  the 
Constitution  and  for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people. 

"  But  already  in  the  beginning  of  the  autumn  of  that 
year  he  commenced  to  conspire,  together  with  his  mother 
Queen  Nathalie,  against  the  Radical  regime,  which  he  him- 
self a  few  months  ago  had  initiated.  An  underground 
struggle  commenced  between  the  King  and  the  people,  led 
by  the  Radicals.  King  Alexander  tried  to  find  polit- 
ical men  who  would  support  him  in  that  struggle,  made 
many  experiments,  and  formed  and  dismissed  numerous 
Cabinets.  He  brought  into  the  political  life  of  Servia  still 


APPENDIX  219 

greater  restlessness  than  that  which  prevailed  under  his 
father. 

"  In  the  commencement  of  the  year  1897  he  invited  his 
father  to  return  to  Servia,  disregarding  entirely  the  law 
which  forbade  King  Milan  to  come  to  or  stay  in  the  country. 
The  judges  refused  to  acknowledge  the  abolition  of  that 
law  by  the  simple  expression  of  the  King's  will.  King 
Alexander  answered  by  placing  the  judges  on  the  retired 
list,  and  appointing  new  judges  who  approved  of  the 
irregular  abolition  of  the  Law  against  King  Milan.  This 
was  King  Alexander's  second  coup  d^tat. 

"  But  finding  it  more  and  more  difficult  to  reign  accord- 
ing to  his  own  will  as  long  as  the  Constitution  of  1888  was 
legally  in  vigour,  Alexander,  guided  by  the  advice  of  his 
father  Milan,  tried  to  find  opportunities  to  get  rid  of  that, 
for  him  too  Radical,  Constitution.  For  that  purpose  he, 
through  some  officers  of  his  household,  arranged  with  a 
certain  secret  agent,  Tchebinatz,  a  complot,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  provoke  a  revolution  in  the  country.  This 
fictitious  complot  gave  him  a  pretext  to  put  under  arrest 
the  most  notable  leaders  of  the  Opposition,  and  to  suspend 
the  Constitution  of  1888,  replacing  it  by  an  old  Constitu- 
tion which  to  the  representatives  of  the  nation  gave  only 
the  consultative  vote.  This  was  King  Alexander's  third 
coup  <£Jtat. 

"  All  this  was  done  only  to  enable  King  Alexander  to 
renew  the  secret  Treaty  which  his  father  concluded  in 
1882  with  Austria;  and  also  that  his  father,  King  Milan, 
might  easier  get  money  for  the  payment  of  his  huge 
gambling  debts.  Just  for  that  purpose  he — King  Milan — 
was  appointed  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Servian 
Army. 

"  During  all  that  time  the  entire  Servian  nation  was  in 
opposition  to  King  Alexander's  home  and  foreign  policy. 
Europe  did  not  know  anything  about  it,  because,  as 
Austria  had  by  the  secret  Treaty  taken  the  engagement 
to  protect  the  Obrenovich  Dynasty,  the  entire  Vienna 


220  APPENDIX 

Press  diligently  worked  to  conceal  from  Europe  the  state 
of  things  that  prevailed  in  Servia,  and  the  European  Press 
generally  went  to  Vienna  for  information  on  Servia. 

"  In  order  to  destroy  by  a  military  tribunal  the  chiefs 
of  the  Radical  Party,  who  never  ceased  their  struggle  for 
liberty,  a  new  fictitious  attempt  against  the  life  of  King 
Milan  was  organised,  and  all  the  principal  and  the  most 
courageous  chiefs  of  the  Opposition  were  arrested  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  attempt  took  place.  A  Royal 
decree  proclaimed  a  Court-Martial,  declaring  that  the 
judges  of  such  a  Court  ought  to  give  verdict  according  to 
their  conscience  and  not  according  to  the  proofs.  As 
members  of  that  Court  were  appointed  the  most  con- 
temptible of  men. 

"  The  chiefs  of  the  Opposition,  arrested  although  quite 
innocent,  were  tortured  by  hunger,  thirst,  privation  of  sleep, 
and  all  sorts  of  torture.  And  finally  they  were  condemned 
to  prison,  with  hard  labour,  for  life. 

"  To  assure  himself  of  the  mastery  over  his  son,  King 
Milan  allowed  him  to  make  intimate  acquaintance  with 
a  widow,  by  name  Draga  Mashin,  wife  of  a  mining 
engineer  who  died  by  a  mysterious  death,  and  whose 
family  believed  that  he  was  poisoned  by  her. 

"  Having  a  very  small  pension  (not  quite  a  hundred 
francs  per  month)  she  lived  under  the  protection  of  certain 
men.  She  ceased  to  lead  that  disreputable  life  only  when 
she  succeeded  in  approaching  the  Court.  And  she  came 
to  the  Court  under  the  protection  and  special  care  of  King 
Milan,  who  for  several  reasons  wanted  to  see  his  son  enter 
into  liaison  with  such  a  woman. 

"  Somewhat  later  King  Milan  wanted  to  obtain  for  his 
son  the  hand  of  a  German  Princess,  and  the  Servian 
Minister  in  Berlin  received  instructions  to  enter  into 
negotiations  with  that  object. 

"  But  while  King  Milan  was — apparently  with  the  con- 
sent and  approval  of  his  son — working  in  that  direction, 
King  Alexander  was  thinking  how  to  marry  his  mistress 


APPENDIX  221 

Draga  Mashin.  He  succeeded  in  misleading  his  father  and 
in  cheating  him.  He  sent  his  father  to  Carlsbad  with  a 
mission  to  arrange  everything  necessary  for  his  marriage 
with  the  German  Princess. 

"  Having  got  rid  in  that  way  of  his  father,  he  suddenly 
issued  a  proclamation  announcing  to  the  people  that  he 
had  engaged  himself  with  Draga,  the  granddaughter  of 
'  Voyvode '  Lunyevitza,  and  that  he  is  going  to  marry 
her  at  once.  As  all  his  Ministers  were  opposed  to  that 
marriage  he  dismissed  them,  and,  after  many  difficulties, 
formed  a  new  Cabinet  composed  of  most  insignificant 
men. 

"  The  Court  officers  and  some  of  the  Ministers  made 
immediately  a  conspiracy  to  dethrone  King  Alexander 
and  to  reinstate  King  Milan.  But  political  parties  would 
not  support  that  plan,  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  people  if 
they  brought  King  Milan  back  to  the  throne.  And  thus 
nothing  came  out  of  that  Court  conspiracy. 

"  The  Radical  Party,  which  had  an  immense  majority  in 
the  country,  but  whose  chiefs  were  either  in  prison  or  in 
exile,  kept  quiet.  They  saw  that  the  end  of  the  reigning 
dynasty  was  approaching,  as  the  last  Obrenovich,  King 
Alexander,  had  taken  for  wife  a  woman  of  whom  all 
Belgrade  knew  that  she  was  unable  to  bear  children. 

"  Possibly  a  revolution  against  King  Alexander  might 
have  taken  place  at  that  juncture  if  the  Emperor  of  Russia 
had  not  helped  the  marriage  to  take  place  by  accepting  to 
be  the  principal  witness  at  the  wedding ! 

"No  one  in  Servia  was  satisfied  with  that  marriage. 
Everybody  felt  that  the  dignity  of  Servia  and  of  her  King 
had  been  lowered.  Everybody  saw  that  the  moment  was 
approaching  when  the  dynasty  would  collapse  of  itself. 
Love-letters  of  Draga  Mashin  to  some  of  her  former  lovers 
were  privately  circulating  in  Belgrade,  and  could  not  but 
fill  the  readers  with  shame  that  Draga  had  become  the 
Queen  of  Servia. 

"King  Alexander  and  Queen   Draga  did  everything 


222  APPENDIX 

possible  to  approach  the  people  and  gain  their  love.  They 
wanted  to  get  from  the  people  support  against  King  Milan, 
whom  they  still  feared,  and  who  had  wired  to  them  that 
he  would  be  the  first  to  applaud  the  man  who  would  drive 
them  away  from  Servia.  They  hoped  to  get  that  support 
against  the  chiefs  of  all  the  parties,  who  suffered  much  by 
seeing  the  degradation  of  their  fatherland.  King  Alexander 
gave  amnesty  to  all  political  prisoners,  recalled  all  political 
emigrants  back  to  the  country,  and  even  offered  to  some 
of  them  to  be  Cabinet  Ministers.  On  the  whole,  King 
Alexander  and  Queen  Draga  had  no  success  in  that 
endeavour,  except  that  they  won  some  politicians  of  low 
standing. 

"A  few  months  after  the  marriage  it  was  officially 
announced  to  the  people  that  the  Queen  was  in  an  interest- 
ing condition  !  Then  commenced  that  comedy,  unique  in 
the  history  of  the  world  by  its  cynicism.  All  that  was 
necessary  to  keep  the  people  in  illusion  was  done  with  the 
greatest  care.  The  people  were  divided  in  two  groups : 
one  which — judging  only  by  appearances — believed  that 
the  Queen  was  really  in  an  interesting  condition ;  and  the 
other,  composed  of  men  who  knew  Draga,  and  who  believed 
that  she  was  simulating  intentionally,  and  deliberately 
cheating  everybody. 

"The  Emperor  of  Russia,  who  was  by  proxy  the 
principal  witness  at  King  Alexander's  wedding,  and  who 
had  promised  to  receive  at  his  Court  Alexander  and  Draga, 
got  such  proofs  of  Draga's  simulation  that  he  insisted 
King  Alexander  should  consent  that  a  specialist  whom 
he  (the  Emperor)  wished  to  send  should  examine  the  real 
condition  of  the  Queen. 

"  The  King  was  obliged  to  receive  the  Russian  specialist. 
He  no  doubt  hoped  that  he  would  be  able,  in  one  way  or 
other,  to  obtain  from  him  the  confirmation  of  the  Queen's 
statement  that  she  was  with  child.  But  he  was  mistaken. 
The  Imperial  accoucheur  found  that  the  Queen  was  not 
enceinte !  But  he  was  so  far  obliging  towards  the  Queen 


APPENDIX  223 

that  he  added  that  a  sort  of  tumour  had  been  formed 
which  could  quite  naturally  mislead  anyone. 

"  This  brought  a  new  consternation  to  the  people,  a  new 
humiliation  and  shame!  Everybody  now  saw  clearly 
what  was  the  intention  of  the  Royal  couple,  namely,  to 
cheat  the  people  and  to  declare  somebody  else's  baby  as 
Queen  Draga's  child. 

"  To  quiet  the  people,  and  to  give  them  some  sort  of 
consolation,  King  Alexander  re-established  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1888  (which  he  had  suspended  in  1897),  but  with 
some  important  additions ;  as,  for  instance,  the  creation  of  a 
Second  Chamber  (the  Senate).  He  hoped  thereby  to  win 
the  richer  and  higher  class  of  the  people,  who  as  Senators 
would  probably  act  as  a  brake  against  the  Radical  Party. 
He  gave  that  Constitution  without  consulting  the  people, 
in  fact  again  by  a  coup  d'etat.  Anyhow,  he  made  a 
solemn  oath,  in  the  presence  of  both  Chambers  and  of 
Queen  Draga,  to  respect  faithfully  the  new  Constitution. 

"  Having  not  succeeded  with  the  plan  of  substituting 
somebody's  baby  for  their  own,  and  so  cheating  the  people 
in  that  way,  and  as  the  doctors  declared  that  Queen  Draga 
never  could  have  children,  the  King  and  the  Queen  gave 
up  that  first  plan  definitely,  and  decided  to  do  something 
else,  not  less  dangerous ;  namely,  to  proclaim  one  of  the 
Queen's  brothers  as  Heir- Apparent  of  the  throne !  Their 
choice  fell  on  the  younger  of  the  two  brothers,  on  Nikodiye 
Lunyevitza. 

"  To  prepare  the  ground  and  accustom  the  people  to  this 
idea,  the  King  began  to  raise  the  position  of  the  Queen's 
brothers  and  to  treat  them  as  if  they  were  Princes  of  Royal 
blood.  He  organised  quite  an  agitation  in  the  army  in 
favour  of  Nikodiye.  The  younger  brother  was  chosen  by 
the  King  and  Queen  instead  of  the  elder  one,  simply 
because  he  was  somewhat  less  bad  than  his  brother. 

"The  two  brothers  Lunyevitza,  themselves  youngofficers, 
began  to  gather  around  them  other  young  officers,  and  by 
presents  and  other  courtesies  and  kindnesses  to  gain  them 


224  APPENDIX 

for  the  intentions  of  the  Royal  couple.  Officers  who 
refused  such  advances,  and  would  not  have  anything  to  do 
with  the  two  Lieutenants  Lunyevitza,  were  persecuted  and 
insulted.  King  Alexander  gave  the  order  that  whenever 
the  brothers  Lunyevitza,  or  one  of  them,  entered  a  barrack 
or  a  camp,  the  guards  were  to  be  called  out  to  present 
arms,  and  the  Commander  was  to  give  them  the  usual 
military  reports.  This  caused  at  once  a  great  dissatisfac- 
tion in  the  army  against  those  two  'officer-princes'  who 
were  so  arbitrarily  imposed  on  it.  Hardly  ever  a  day 
passed  that  they  had  not  some  words,  quarrels,  and  conflicts 
with  officers.  Often  it  came  to  scandalous  scenes  between 
the  officers  and  themselves  on  account  of  the  privileged 
position  which  they  assumed. 

"  King  Alexander  went  a  step  further.  He  requested 
the  Government  to  submit  to  the  Parliament  a  Bill  enacting 
the  inviolability  of  the  two  brothers  of  the  Queen.  The 
Cabinet,  although  generally  quite  humble  servants  of  the 
King  and  Queen,  dared  not  propose  such  a  Bill.  The 
King  then  began  to  agitate  personally  among  the  Senators, 
who  by  majority  were  Radicals,  to  promise  to  support  his 
demands.  They  refused  to  give  such  a  promise.  He 
requested  them  then  to  resign  their  mandates  as  Senators, 
that  they  might  be  replaced  by  others  who  would  be  more 
pliable  to  his  will,  and  he  promised  them  all  sorts  of 
personal  advantages.  They  persisted  in  their  refusal. 
Thereupon  the  King  began  to  denounce  the  Senate  as  an 
institution  which  pushes  itself  like  a  wedge  between  the 
King  and  the  people,  and  publicly  expressed  his  conviction 
that  the  Senate  ought  to  be  abolished,  or  at  least  that  in 
some  way  its  members  ought  to  be  replaced  by  others. 

"Seeing  that  the  army  refused  to  treat  the  Queen's 
brothers  as  Princes  of  Royal  blood,  seeing  that  the  Senators 
would  never  consent  that  one  of  the  Lieutenants  Lunyevitza 
should  be  proclaimed  Heir-Apparent  to  the  throne  of 
Servia,  King  Alexander  decided  for  another  coup  d'ttat. 
He  formed  a  new  Cabinet,  which  was  prepared  to  help 


APPENDIX  225 

him  to  do  it.  Many  honest  State's  employes,  especially 
among  the  prefects  and  police  commissioners,  were  either 
dismissed  or  transferred  to  some  other  place  and  service. 
They  were  replaced  generally  by  men  of  bad  reputation, 
known  as  unscrupulous  and  even  as  dishonest.  When  the 
King's  attention  was  drawn  to  this  fact,  he  answered :  '  It 
is  of  such  men  that  I  have  need ;  honest  and  scrupulous 
men  are  not  willing  to  help  me  to  get  a  Parliament  which 
would  be  ready  to  accept  my  proposals  ! ' 

"  The  excitement  and  exasperation  of  the  people  were 
great,  and  growing  from  day  to  day.  The  patriots  began 
to  talk  loudly  that  it  was  high  time  to  save  Servia,  and 
especially  that  the  Queen  ought  to  be  sent  away  or,  if 
necessary,  strangled  and  murdered,  —  the  woman  who 
imposed  herself  on  the  nation  being  not  personally  worthy 
to  enter  the  humblest  house  of  an  honourable  citizen,  and 
who  now  wanted  to  impose  on  the  country  one  of  her 
brothers  as  heir  to  the  throne.  The  dissatisfaction  spread 
to  all  classes,  and  carried  away  with  it  young  and  old. 
The  officers  composing  the  household  of  the  King  and  the 
Queen  expressed  to  their  comrades  in  the  army  that  they 
regret  to  have  to  serve  such  a  King  and  such  a  Queen. 
Even  the  numerous  detectives,  who  were  chosen  to  spy 
everything  and  everybody  in  the  service  of  Alexander 
and  Draga,  were  making  common  cause  with  the  mal- 
contents, and  communicated  to  them  the  orders  which 
they  received  from  the  Minister  of  Police  or  from  the 
Court. 

"  A  small  demonstration  without  importance,  organised 
by  the  University  students  and  commercial  assistants  and 
clerks,  developed  into  a  serious  riot.  All  the  town  passed 
on  the  side  of  the  demonstrants,  and  the  soldiers  called 
out  to  disperse  them  sympathised,  and  in  some  places 
fraternised,  with  them.  The  officers  who  received  from 
the  Palace  order  by  telephone  to  fire  on  the  people,  refused 
to  do  so  without  written  orders  according  to  the  prescrip- 
tion of  the  law.  The  people  felt  and  saw  that  the  army 


226  APPENDIX 

was  with  them,  and  that  gave  them  courage,  and  they 
were  prepared  to  do  anything.  The  King  and  the  Queen 
became  terrified,  and  thought  that  the  critical  moment  had 
arrived. 

"  The  King  ordered  several  regiments  to  come  to  the 
capital,  and  in  the  night  of  the  25th  March  (1903) 
he  executed  again  a  coup  d'ttat.  He  suspended  the 
Constitution  which  he  gave  in  1901.  The  suspension 
lasted  only  half  an  hour,  time  enough  for  him  to  sign 
decrees  by  which  all  the  members  of  the  Senate,  the  State 
Council,  and  the  Court  of  Accounts — who  were,  according 
to  the  old  Constitution,  nominated  for  life — were  dismissed 
from  their  positions  and  replaced  by  others. 

"  After  this  his  Cabinet  (General  Tzintzar-Markovich) 
undertook  new  general  elections,  using,  according  to  the 
instructions  from  the  King,  all  sorts  of  illegal  pressure  on 
the  electors,  and  by  such  means  it  succeeded  in  securing  a 
sufficiently  large  majority  of  the  deputies. 

"  But  to  succeed  entirely  in  their  heart's  desire  the  King 
and  the  Queen  made  a  diabolical  scheme.  It  was  arranged 
that  it  should  be  proven  by  false  documents  and  false 
witnesses  that  certain  officers  and  certain  politicians  had 
made  a  complot  to  murder  the  King  and  Queen  while 
they  were  walking  or  driving  in  the  Deer-Park  near 
Belgrade.  A  man  was  hired  who  would  apparently  fire 
at  them  (but  without  hurting  them),  who  would  be 
immediately  arrested,  and  who  would  then  name  before 
the  Court  those  officers  and  politicians  as  men  who  had 
hired  him  to  murder  the  Royal  couple.  This  fictitious 
attempt  was  to  take  place  on  the  eve  of  the  meeting  of 
the  new  Parliament,  to  which  then  would  immediately  be 
submitted,  as  the  matter  of  absolute  urgency,  the  Bill 
appointing  Nikodiye'  Lunyevitza  as  Heir-Apparent  to 
the  throne. 

"The  friends  of  King  Milan,  who  on  the  eve  of 
Alexander's  marriage  with  Draga  wished  to  recall  Milan 
to  the  throne,  now,  since  Milan  had  died  in  exile,  joined 


APPENDIX  227 

the  officers  of  the  army,  who  were  determined  not  to  allow 
that  their  future  King  should  be  a  Lunyevitza  whom  they 
despised.  They  were  joined  also  by  the  officers  of  the 
Court,  who  were  disgusted  in  witnessing  what  was  done 
in  the  Palace,  and  what  the  King  and  Queen  were  pre- 
paring to  do. 

"Destiny  had  willed  that  at  the  Court  of  the  last 
Obrenovich,  served  as  an  equerry  the  grandson  of  that 
Naoumovich  who  was  killed  defending  Kara-George 
against  the  murderers  sent  by  Prince  Milosh  (Obrenovich 
the  First).  Everything  that  was  necessary  to  penetrate 
into  the  Palace  was  arranged  with  that  officer.  He 
perished,  together  with  those  whom  he  delivered  to  the 
conspirators. 

"  The  officers  who  were  ready  to  sacrifice  their  lives  in 
order  to  save  the  country  from  new  massacres  (?)  and 
from  unworthy  heirs  to  the  throne,  had  the  intention  to 
accomplish  their  object  on  Palm  Sunday,  in  the  fortress 
where,  according  to  custom,  the  King  was  to  come ;  but  he 
did  not  come.  Then  they  were  prepared  to  do  it  on  the 
occasion  of  the  foundation  stone  for  the  Palace  of  Music 
being  laid  down  by  the  King  and  Queen  ;  but  again  they 
did  not  appear.  Then  they  thought  to  kill  the  King  and 
Queen  in  the  circus,  to  which  they  went  frequently ;  but 
they  gave  up  that  plan  on  account  of  the  many  children 
and  other  people  who  might  innocently  suffer.  But 
having  been  informed  of  the  King's  arrangement  for  a 
false  attempt  and  its  consequences,  and  seeing  that  they 
had  not  much  time  to  lose,  they  in  the  night  of  the 
29th  May  (nth  June  N.S.)  penetrated  into  the  Palace  and 
accomplished  their  object. 

"  If  the  drama  was  accomplished  under  conditions  which 
are  very  regrettable  and  perhaps  shameful,  that  happened 
against  the  intention  of  the  actors.  It  came  about  in 
consequence  of  the  officers  believing  themselves  betrayed 
and  trapped,  and  also  because  after  two  or  three  hours  of 
searching  for  Alexander  and  Draga  in  the  Palace,  it  was 


228  APPENDIX 

absolutely  necessary  to  prove  to  the  soldiers  and  to  the 
people  that  the  King  and  the  Queen  were  really  dead. 
When  they  entered  the  Palace  the  conspirators  did  not 
intend  to  do  the  victims  to  such  a  horrible  death,  but 
when  the  sword  is  once  drawn  and  when  the  fight  begins 
no  one  can  foresee  how  it  will  end. 

"  It  is  natural  to  regret  such  an  end,  but  at  the  same 
time  it  is  right  to  recognise  that  after  all  a  good  people 
had  suffered  from  their  King,  and  after  the  manner  in 
which  that  King  had  treated  his  own  father  and  mother 
some  such  terrible  end  was  to  be  expected." 

In  this  statement  of  a  Regicide  there  is  much  that  is 
true,  but  at  least  as  much  that  is  not  true. 

It  is  quite  true  that  King  Alexander  was  not  a 
constitutional  monarch.  By  his  bad  education,  by  his 
surroundings,  by  political  circumstances  of  Servia,  by  the 
follies  of  the  leaders  of  political  parties  in  Servia,  he  had 
been  encouraged  in  his  autocratic  proclivities.  I  am  the 
last  man  who  would  undertake  to  justify  his  numerous 
"  State  strokes "  (coups  d'etaf),  but  it  is  only  fair  to 
remember  that  Alexander,  like  his  father  Milan,  was 
obliged  day  and  night  to  defend  himself  against  the 
permanent  conspiracy  which  was  working  by  all  and 
every  means  to  replace  the  dynasty  Obrenovich  on  the 
throne  of  Servia  by  the  dynasty  Karageorgevich. 

It  is  quite  true  that  King  Alexander  behaved — since 
his  marriage  with  Draga — cruelly  towards  his  father  and 
mother.  I  myself  told  him  once  that  he  will  have  to 
suffer  for  his  conduct  towards  his  parents,  and  implored 
him  to  change  his  conduct  towards  them. 

It  is  quite  true  that  he  ought  not  to  have  made  Draga 
Mashin  the  Queen  of  Servia,  and  it  is  quite  true  that  the 
army  and  the  Servian  political  world  disapproved  of  that 
marriage. 

But  it  is  not  true  that  Draga  Mashin  led  a  dissolute 
life  before  she  came  into  contact  with  the  Court.  It  is 


APPENDIX  229 

not  true  that  King  Milan  brought  her  in  the  way  of 
his  son. 

It  is  not  true  that  Queen  Draga  simulated,  with  the 
approval  of  King  Alexander,  as  if  she  had  been  in  an 
interesting  condition,  desiring  to  proclaim  some  other 
woman's  baby  as  her  own.  She  in  good  faith  thought 
herself  to  be  enceinte,  and  not  only  all  the  Court  and  friends 
of  the  dynasty  who  saw  her  believed  so,  but  competent 
doctors  and  specialists — not  only  the  Servian  physicians  to 
the  Court,  but  specialists  of  European  fame,  brought  from 
Paris  and  Vienna — did  believe  so.  The  well-known  French 
accoucheur,  Dr.  Collet,  gave  to  the  King  a  written 
assurance  that  the  Queen  was  in  an  interesting  condition. 
Nor  is  it  true  that  the  Tzar  insisted  that  two  Russian 
specialists,  whom  he  wished  to  send,  must  examine  the 
real  condition  of  the  Queen.  Dr.  SneguirefT  and  Dr. 
Goobareff  were  invited  by  King  Alexander  and  Queen 
Draga  to  attend  her  at  her  expected  confinement,  and 
acting  on  their  first  impressions  they,  on  their  arrival  in  the 
Belgrade  Palace,  ordered  all  necessary  preparations  for  an 
accouchement.  The  story  of  her  alleged  plot  to  cheat 
everybody  shows  only  how  boundless  was  the  hatred  of 
some  of  her  personal  enemies,  and  how  the  agents  working 
for  the  downfall  of  the  dynasty  Obrenovich  did  not 
hesitate  to  use  the  most  abominable  lies  only  to  discredit 
that  dynasty. 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  reports  were  assiduously  spread 
that  King  Alexander,  hypnotised  by  Queen  Draga,  wished 
to  proclaim  Nikodiye"  Lunyevitza,  her  younger  brother, 
Heir-Apparent  to  the  throne.  It  is  true  that  such  reports 
alarmed  the  people  and  disgusted  many  officers,  especially 
younger  ones,  the  comrades  of  Nikodiyd  But  all  those 
reports  were  repeatedly  and  emphatically  contradicted 
officially,  and  denied  by  King  Alexander  on  several 
solemn  occasions  to  the  members  of  Parliament,  to  the 
deputations  from  the  people,  to  foreign  diplomatists,  etc. 
Eight  days  before  his  assassination  he  confided  to  the 
16 


230  APPENDIX 

uncle  of  his  father,  Aleko  Catargi  (at  present  the 
Roumanian  Minister  in  London),  that  his  intention  was 
to  adopt  a  young  boy  of  a  small  German  Court,  to  bring 
him  and  educate  him  in  Servia  and  make  him  heir  to  the 
Servian  Crown. 

It  is  certainly  not  true  that  the  attempt  on  King 
Milan's  life  was  only  a  fictitious  attempt  arranged  by 
Milan  himself  and  his  son  Alexander  in  order  to  get  rid 
of  certain  Radical  political  leaders. 

And  I  honestly  believe  that  the  story  about  the  plot 
which  the  regicides  say  was  projected  by  King  Alexander 
against  himself,  in  order  to  make  numerous  arrests  of 
oppositionists  and  frighten  the  Parliament  into  submission 
and  readiness  to  proclaim  Nikodiye  Heir-Apparent,  is 
simply  an  invention  of  the  regicides  themselves  to  justify 
their  action.  After  the  assassination  of  King  Alexander 
and  Queen  Draga  they  got  into  their  hands  the  King's 
private  papers  and  secret  Archives  of  the  Court  and  of 
the  State,  and  they  never  produced  the  slightest  document 
proving  that  King  Alexander  really  was  arranging,  or  had 
arranged,  such  a  diabolical  plot. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  several  unconstitutional  acts  of 
King  Alexander,  his  marriage  with  Draga  Mashin,  and 
then  more  especially  the  phantom  of  Nikodiye  Lunyevitza 
as  future  King  of  Servia,  created  intense  dissatisfaction 
among  the  officers — especially  the  younger  ones — of  the 
army.  That  dissatisfaction  was  cleverly  used  by  the 
leaders  of  the  anti-dynastic  movement,  and  it  succeeded 
in  annihilating  the  dynasty  Obrenovich  in  a  horrible 
manner,  which  added  a  new  bloody  page  to  the  history 
of  the  Servian  nation,  certainly  to  the  great  and  ever- 
lasting regret  of  all  Servian  patriots. 


Printed  by  MORRISON  &  GIBB  LIMITED,  Edinburgh 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 
Fii 


OCT  14  1947 


IN  STACK! 

NOV    81! 


REC'D  LD 

J UN  2  4  1963 


RECDLO 


LD  21-100m-12,'46(A2012^6)4120 


2  7  7979 

KjjkM-   MAR  *& 


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Jl 
K 
Uj 

Z 


CO 


Ul 

CQ 


J 

O 

Si, 

O 


DAY  USE 
2  4  1983 


recdcirc.  FEB  24  1983 


1C  47024 


240719 


w 


